WATER:
 
Ferrets, like humans, not only need clean water every day, but they also
PREFER fresh, cool water to drink.  That's the problem with using water
bottles a lot of people don't comprehend.  If you fill one up and hang
it on the side of a hospital cage, and the ferret is eating liquid foods
such as Bob's Chicken Gravy, or baby food, they will tend to drink far
less water from the bottle than expected.  The natural tendency is to
think, "The bottle is mostly full, and it can go another day without
refilling." The problem is, the bottle isn't used much and the water
becomes stale; ferrets instinctually shun stale water.  That is not to
say they won't drink it if thirsty, but they prefer fresh water to stale
water nearly every time.  You can test this for yourself; fill a shallow
dish with water and let it stand for 2 days.  After two days, fill a
second identical dish with water and place them both on the floor.  They
may stick their noses in the stale water, or even play in it, but most
of them will drink, and drink longer, from the fresh water dish.  They
prefer it.
 
The implications are that if you want a ferret to drink as much as
possible, their source of water should be as fresh as possible.  You
can do that by changing the water in the water bottle at least once a
day.  I do every time I weigh the bottle to see how much is missing:
approximately every 8 hours.  Invariably, when I hang the new bottle,
the sick guy hobbles over for a drink of cool, fresh water.
 
There are a lot of opinions regarding the type of water that should be
served.  Is tap water ok, or should bottled water be used?  What about
mineral versus distilled water?  The truth be told, I have little
tolerance for these types of questions, classifying them into the "How
many angels can dance on the head of a pin?" category.  If the water is
safe for you to drink, it is ok for the ferret as well.  Remember,
ferrets are domesticated versions of polecats that evolved drinking water
from muddy puddles, so a lot of the worry about water is the pathological
American fear of dirt, stemming from nearly a century of high-pressure
hygiene advertising.  Likewise, there is no need to serve distilled
water, but if the ferret is eating ok and getting their minerals from
their food, it will not harm them; it's silly, but benign.  I would say
that if you are worried and serving bottled water soothes your mind, then
do so in peace.  And if your neighbor fills their water bottle from the
tap, unless you can show the city water is a bona fide health risk and
60 Minutes is down the street doing an investigation, just smile and say
"What a beautiful ferret."
 
If your ferret is so weak that it cannot or will not drink, DO NOT SQUIRT
WATER INTO ITS MOUTH!!!  Do NOT do it!!  That ferret needs to see a vet
immediately!  You simply cannot guarantee the water you squirt into such
a weak ferret's mouth will go into the stomach; some of it can and
probably will be aspirated.  That not only is extremely uncomfortable,
but it can cause aspiration pneumonia.  The ferret needs fluids, and
the best way in these cases is for the vet to give the fluid with a
sub-cutaneous (or sub-q; under the skin) injection, or directly into the
circulatory system via an IV infusion.  If your ferret cannot drink,
immediately call the vet for instructions.
 
Some ferret owners have been instructed on how and when to give sub-q
fluids, but I WILL NOT discuss that here because you need to learn those
techniques under the supervision of a vet.  I find sticking a needle
under a ferret's skin an easy task, but if you did it wrong you could do
a tremendous amount of damage to your ferret -- even kill them.  Also,
even though some ferrets are visibly dehydrated, the general advice of
"Oh, give them about 40 cc and they'll void out what they don't need"
is dependent on the ferrets exact state of health.  The ferret may have
cardiopulmonary or kidney aliments making the infusion of large amounts
of fluid dangerous, even deadly.  My best and only advice is to learn
the technique from your vet, and only give fluids under the vet's direct
supervision or prescription.
 
Bob C
[Posted in FML issue 4404]