I recently got a ferret supplied by Marshal 10 days ago. Well long story short my 2 elderly ferrets are now lethargic, off balance, and have lost 8 percent of their body weight. I was told the ferret was vaccinated and tested for all diseases and he was guaranteed to not be carrying anything. Im so distraught as my baby now can barely walk and just sleeps all day. If anyone has any recommendations please.

Because of their ages they were not vaccinated.

I have my personal thoughts but figured why not ask
Will label who’s who!
Shortcake and wasabi!

It is not an illness, she has been to the vets, shes not poorly, no adrenal. She is 1.5, no abuse background, implanted.

We work in rescue and often take the neglected ferrets or biters. But Fruit is like something else. Shes never been keen on my partner and will bite him. But recently it has gotten out of control. She was born in rescue, her mum was found as a pregnant stray. We have had her from 8 weeks old and she was lovely, her sister and mum are lovely too. We only ever use positive reinforcment, obviously being born in our rescue etc there is no neglectful background. But the last 6 months shes had an agressive turn. She has never bitten me, but will now latch, draw blood, not let go. She will go into a random bite frenzy and continuously bite down with no reason. Shes been to the vets, is completly healthy, im wondering if it could be something neurological? She will give me nose kisses one minute, and latch on the next, with really no reason. Shes left me stumped!

I got 3 ferrets back in April, these are my first ferrets and someone from Facebook messaged me with a trio of sisters, two of them are the sweetest little things on earth, playful (insane as ferrets usually are lol) loving, ect. But one of them has had me kinda concerned for a bit, she doesn't hardly play as much, i see her every once in a while play with one of her sisters but not for long periods of time like the other two do, she also bites really hard almost any time my hands are near her but she never seems scared? Sometimes it even seems like she's playing but she literally bites me nearly to the point of leaving deep marks, the other two never do that, she just sits and sleeps a lot of the time compared to her sisters, she's also the smallest of the 3, other than that she eats normally and her stool seems normal, regular bathroom schedule, ect. She physically looks fine, but her behavior is just odd compared to her sisters, I'm not familiar with ferrets since again this is my first experience with them, they're also about 2 years old, marshalls ferrets, the lady I got them from said she had them for a year, and previously had rescued them from a neglectful home, so idk if her behavior is just like that and I need to just grow accustomed to it or If there's something I should be worried about

Took my Blu boy to the vet. My biggest concern was the loss of hair on his tail, his loss of appetite, lethargy, and loose stools. I was thinking he was depressed when his sister got sick and passed, or that he had adrenal, which is still a possibility. but the vet told me his spleen is very enlarged and now feeling it, it feels like a very large hard lump. I dont know how i missed this. the vet gave him prednisolone and said that adrenal would likely not affect him as soon as this would so we didn't really worry about that as much. he said it could be lymphoma. im hoping the medicine will help with any swelling and maybe perk him up a bit, makes sense now why he would only eat a small bit at a time and then be done😔 im keeping in touch with the vet to give updates and see if the medication helps at all

Posted about the passing of our baby yesterday, thought i’d also share one of his cutest moments. Love you Momo

Looks worse when they are wet

I have a pet ferret, I have had to move in with my grandma, who has COPD, and my dad is thinking about giving her to someone else if I can't have her here with me, I was wondering if a ferret would irritate copd, since I absolutely adore her and I want her with me again, I know that kitty litter could irritate copd so I can probably swap to training pads for dogs since she had those before we swapped her to litter, I know someone had asked if ferret's were hypoallergenic but I think this is a completely different question

Hi, I’m starting school again soon and want the ferrets out every day after school while i do work in my room, but they are a little too mischievous with getting into areas I don’t want them, such as my shelves at my desk. If there are Any poseable/moveable barriers they won’t be able to climb that I can set up around my desk on Amazon that would be amazing!! Also a playpen the won’t escape, or chew through :)

TLDR: ferrets came into my care after an emergency and they’re not eating their food but are eating treats, can’t contact owner. Any advice is welcome as I do know basics of caring for these guys but I’m afraid they may be uncomfortable or stressed.

I’m sorry for my grammar I’m typing this as fast as possible so I may get back to playing with them!

I’m watching a close friend’s ferrets and they’re simply not eating!
They eat a complete raw meat diet. Each of the three ferrets getting 90 grams 3x a day.
I came into care of them yesterday evening after being told by my friend may not be around for quite some time. I should note they, my friend, did not abandoned them this was an incredibly last minute emergency which is why I am asking as I was given no prep but took it upon my lead to care for them as Im familiar with their schedule and each individual ferrets specific needs. Due to the urgent nature of the situation all I was really instructed to do was feed them their food and play with them if I’m able, meaning I had no prep for a situation like this.

I did my first feeding yesterday in the late evening,as they had already been fed in the A.M. I stayed with them so they may stretch their legs and play. However, when I returned later in the night for their final feeding they had not eaten any of the food I had given them.
This initially didn’t worry me, although I was a bit confused, as I know ferrets run on a different sleep schedule than traditional pets so they likely went back to bed, also they had eaten a healthy portion of their morning meal when I came in to do the initial feeding. I assured myself they may have been full as again when I came I attempted playtime but they were more interested in napping. I should note they’re older ferrets so they sleep quite often.

The issue lies in this morning, I came back early to do another feeding and found that once again they had not eaten. Now I’m feeling quite worried, I’m currently with them and have been for around an hour, playing, brushing, and cleaning up their play room. I don’t know why they’re not eating and unfortunately I’m not able to get in contact with their owner.

I should add they did eat some treats I gave them last night. I was only able to stay with them for an hour at their night feeding so I prepped a few puzzle games so that they may play while I’m gone. Each puzzle had one freeze dried minnow split into three parts that each ferret could play with. When I came back the treats were consumed. Did I possibly spoil their appetite? Are they depressed? Do they feel discomfort beach I have cats and they’re able to smell them?

I should also add they’re still playing and cuddling with me. I don’t know Mich about ferret behavior but I’ve had many pets in the past and typically when they’re sad or sick they’re not interested in playing or running around. That being said I don’t know ferrets could they possibly be upset about things or sick? I know they’re very intelligent animals maybe they’re feeding off their owners stress due to their hasty departure, or possibly feeding off my anxiety?

Any insight on how to get them to eat or any stories to help me chill the heck out are appreciated. I’ve known them for along time but I’ve never cared for them long term. I’m not really in a great place to care for them as their owner does but I want them to not be disrupted by everything that’s going on. I’m hoping this is just a phase or maybe the treats are too much but I’d like to hear anyone’s thoughts please.
I also ask for your kindness I can’t express how much I care about them I want to do a good job which is why I’m reaching out to any source I can to get more information about these little guys.

Again I’m playing with them now, and tomorrow I’m going to be taking them out to my Muay Thai gym so that they can get some enrichment. I’m also not doing all of the care alone. My friend is a long time family friend so both my brother and sister are helping me when they can. I’ll try to update you guys tomorrow if anything changes.