Utah ferrets:
Tips for those transporting ferrets via car for the first time:
 
1. Forget litter.  Put at least two paper towels in the bottom of the
carrier.  If possible put a t-shirt or sleep blanket at the front, paper
at the back.
 
2. Forget water bowls.  Stop every hour and a half of travel to give
water (and change out paper towels as necessary.
 
3. Don't stack carriers more than 3 high.  Air flow to the lower levels
is drastically reduced if stacks are too deep.
 
4. Carry a cooler full of frozen water bottles and enough socks to cover
them for emergency cooling.  You need at least one bottle per carrier.  NO
ONE'S auto A/C is reliable enough for safety.  A great number of things
can happen on a trip to disable the vehicle's use of the A/C... not just
the air conditioner itself.  (Any time you're driving with a ferret in a
area where it will take you more than 15 minutes to walk to an air
conditioned area... you should have ice in a cooler!)
 
5. Carry a jar of karo syrup or honey.  Not knowing much about the health
conditions of these ferrets, there could easily be one in your group that
has stopped eating enough due to stress to bring on an insulinoma seizure.
Syrup should be followed by baby food when ferret is reponding more
naturally.  Normally this first aid will suffice long enough to finish the
trip or get additional help/instructions.
 
6. Carry a couple of rolls of paper towels and several large ziploc bags
for sanitary soiled paper disposal.
 
7. Carry at least 2 separate containers of water, in the event one is
accidentally spilled.
 
8. If you're going to be traveling with and need an immediate source for
first aid info to call, email me for emergency numbers.  I can help you
work through most any ferret emergency over the phone.
 
Although Ferrets First shelter is currently at max capacity we can provide
temporary residency for ferrets in transit.  We have 6 cages, each capable
of housing up to three ferrets.
 
We can also provide 24/7 medical care including sub-Q fluids and
antibiotic injections as prescribed by a vet.  We can provide veterinary
attention/diagnostics for ferrets stopping over here.
 
We can travel to pickup or deliver to/from Dallas/Ft.  Worth to Monroe,
LA, Broken Bow, OK to Houston, TX area.  We have access to carriers to
use.
 
Brown patches on skin.
Since Clavamox seems to help, maybe it's some kind of bacterial infection.
I've seen some "patches" similar to this that cleared up very well using
Gentacyn spray.  It's gentamycin, an antibiotic (ok for topical
applications but not recommended otherwise for ferrets) with a steroid
additive.  Most vets should carry some version of it.
 
(It's also GREAT for encouraging  faster regrowth of hair after adrenal
 surgeries!)
 
Cats using ferret boxes:
The only way I've found to prevent cats from using the ferret boxes is to
use covered plastic boxes with small "mouseholes" cut on each side.  The
mouseholes should be at least 3"x3" and 1" above the bottom of the box.
 
This also works to keep the cats from eating the ferret food.
 
A deterant you might try is to cover the litter with paper towels.  The
covering will make some cats think it can't be scratched in.... others
will just wadd up the toweling.  It also prevents litter tracking through
the house (and in cages).
 
Debi Christy
Ferrets First Foster Home
[Posted in FML issue 3541]