To Pat Ball:
 
>1.  The vet said that ferrets do not come out of heat even if they are bred,
>unless they have a litter.  Is this true?
 
        No, this is not true.  Ferrets that have been bred will ovulate, and the
breeding cycle will stop.  False pregnancies, however, may be far shorter than
true pregnancies (and often are, so your ferret may come back into heat as early
as 14 days, but more commonly 40-42 days.
 
>All the breeders I have spoken with say that they bring their jills out of heat
>with a vasectomized male.  According to the vet, this only takes them out for a
>little while. IE, false pregnancies.
 
        Coitus is what brings the ferret out of estrus.  Many breeders keep a
vasectomized male on the premises so that they are not making trips tot he vet
for an HCG injection every time a ferret can't be bred.  Also, it is far
preferable to do things the natural way than to start mucking around with a
ferrets hormones if you can avoid it.
 
>He also told us that Lucci probably has another problem, such as malformed
>uterus or something along those lines, which is why she hasn't gotten pregnant
>yet.  He also said that ferrets do not have two heat cycles, rather one long
>heat cycle from about March thru August, which brings me to question #2.  How
>often to ferrets come into heat?  And if they do only have one cycle, and they
>do not come out of heat with a vasectomized male, what do I do with my four
>month old who is in season now?
 
        A vasectomized male should be able to bring your jills out of heat with
no problem, or a vet can with an injection.  Ferrets have a long heat cycle if
they are not bread which essentially can run from March to October (it's related
to the length of the day.)  But a ferret that is in heat this whole time can run
into trouble as a result of estrogens suppressing the bone marrow.  So ferrets
hould be bred (don't have to have a litter, though), or borught out of heat at
your vets after a month or so of unsuccessful breeding to avoid trouble.  IF
this is done early in the season, they will come back into heat again in a month
or six weeks.
 
>  One more thing, my husband wants to try breeding Lucci one more time after
>this problem clears up.  I think she should probably be spayed.  Your advise
>please.  Thanks.
 
        At this point, with Lucci bleeding from the vagina, I don't think she is
going to make a good breeder.  I would go along with you and have her spayed.
There may be a serious uterine infection which can lead to some real problems.
On the other hand, she may simply be going through the end stages of
pseudopregnancy, and the uterine discharge is the result of the sloughing of the
uterine wall.  But I would suggest spaying her to eliminate the possibility of
the former.
 
       Bruce Williams, DVM                 Department of Veterinary Pathology
       [log in to unmask]         Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
       (202) 576-2453/2454                 Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
 
[Posted in FML issue 0943]