|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2011 1:11:24 GMT -5
can the ferrets get tapeworm from eating raw meat?
|
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Oct 15, 2011 1:19:12 GMT -5
Dogs, cats and ferrets get tapeworms from ingesting infected fleas not raw meat.
ciao
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2011 15:07:28 GMT -5
really? so why is it, we get it from eating infected meat but they do not? also, is tapeworm deadly to them?
|
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Oct 15, 2011 15:21:49 GMT -5
Sorry, that wasn't entirely correct....it should be they don't normally get tapeworms from raw meat...only infected meats. According to several sites you can get tapeworms from uncooked infected meats. This is rare though due to better husbandry practices and inspections. That being said, humans usually get their tapeworms from picking them up off infected pets and poor sanitary practices. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002366/Try this. I would guess that if you're in the habit of feeding prey, that your wee ones might be more likely to be infected. It suggests freezing meats to destroy the tapeworms in possible infected meats. ciao |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2011 16:02:01 GMT -5
There is probably a rare tapeworm out there that can infect them. Wikipedia says all vertebrate species has at least one. They probably just can't get the very common ones like us because they grow so huge and need so much space and resources to feed off of.
|
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Oct 15, 2011 16:34:44 GMT -5
You might also take a look at how fast a ferret's digestive system works. Most parasites do require a sustained time to take hold...ferrets flush their system about every 4 hrs
ciao
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2011 17:54:03 GMT -5
I'd agree with Heather, your ferret is more likely to get tapeworms from live prey (mice) than it is from frozen-thawed meats from the grocery store (fit for human consumption) or frozen-thawed whole prey, where the freezing process should take care of the tapeworms. That being said, as long as you are getting your live prey from a reputable place, combined with the short digestion span, your ferrets should be fine. You could always mention this to your vet if you're really concerned. But as long as you aren't seeing "rice" in your ferrets stools (this is what I saw when my dogs had tapeworms - rice shaped bits of the tapeworm start to break off into the stool), I'm sure your ferrets are just fine  |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2011 19:50:00 GMT -5
cool cool! Thanks! I just started researching tapeworms yesterday and was curious if they could get it! LOL all of my meat gets frozen so....there shouldnt be any. and I have started to breed all of my own mice for them. I got the females from 2 different pet stores, one petco, one local petstore in a different city, and the male came from a family owned petstore about 50 miles from where I am. And they all seem to get their mice from specific breeders
|
|
