Vaccinations: Ferret's First Foster Home's standard:
 
If your ferret has NEVER had an allergic reaction to a vaccination this
article applies to you.  The possibility of a reaction increases with
each vaccination.
 
ASK .... I mean actually ASK your vet the NAME of the vaccine he intends
to use... DON'T ASSUME he knows which to give!!!  If your vet says "you
don't need to bother with all that"... PRE-TREAT ANYWAY; your vet simply
hasn't had the horrific experiences that so many of us have had.  PRINT
this and take it with you!
 
FDA approved vaccines for ferrets are Imrab-3 for rabies, Fervac-D or
Purevax for canine distemper.  Many vets mistakenly give "dog" vaccines
which should NOT be given to ferrets.  (Galaxy, a dog vaccine, has been
used for years with good results.)  As the dilulant of Fervac-D can
cause allergic reactions including potentially fatal anaphylactic
shock, Ferrets First has, upon vet recommendation adopted the following
protocol:
 
Administer 0.5cc (ferret weight less than 2 lbs) to 1cc (greater than 3
pounds) of Children's Liquid Benedryl once daily for 3 days previous to
vaccination.  Administer same dosage no more than 30 minutes prior to
vaccination.  Inject 1/2 of the vaccine per vial subcutaneous in flank
area for ferrets weighing less than 2 pounds.  Repeat Benedryl dosage the
day following vaccination.  For ferrets that have previously had allergic
reaction to Fervac-D, Benedryl pre-treatment is the same dosage, once
daily for 5 days.  Azium (Dexamethasone), dosage as directed per label,
should be administered prior to vaccination.  Mild reactions of nausea
have been observed and treated with additional injection of Azium.
 
Allergic reactions to Purevax and Imrab-3 are less common but HAVE
been known to occur.  As a safety precaution: ALWAYS PRETREAT for ALL
vaccinations.
 
Pine, cedar, aromatic wood shavings by Dr. Bruce Williams:
http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/faq/whynotcedar.html
 
Using evergreen woods to "freshen" the air and control odors doesn't
appear to be healthy at all.  And, the stuff's not all that cheap,
either.
 
The paper stuff they use at our local Petco (a "good" Petco, btw)....
stinks... even though it's kept scooped... it still stinks.  And I can
not even imagine what a carpeted floor would look like after my bunch
walked in and out of that cage a few times... and that's AFTER they
decided it was to poop in and not to dig and scatter and snorkel.
 
From my own experience, litter of any kind is a cleaning hassle and I'm
simply lazy.  I don't use litter.
 
I use 2 or 3 layers (depending on how popular a particular litter box
is) of paper towels in each litter box.  There's always a litter box with
the front cut down leaving 1/4" to 1/2" lip to step over, on the bottom
floor... sometimes more than one box if it's a large cage floor.  The
ferrets who still poop on the cage floor in front of these litter boxes
get the bottom floor covered with a puppy pad instead of the usual fleece
or towel.  My ferrets (currently 17) occupy 15 to 20 cage levels daily,
and are confined to 17 levels at night.  I spend a total of 30 minutes a
day (15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the evening) going through ALL
ferret cage levels AND the additional 10 daytime free-roam litter box
areas with fresh paper and a quick wipe with a baby wipe.  And there
are a few 'on the fly' fresh paper changes in heavily used areas during
the day... nothing that requires me stop what I'm doing to "clean".
I simply have things I prefer doing to cleaning cages and
sweeping/vacuuming and I DON'T have a litter box odor problem.
 
15 minutes is not long... I waste a lot more time than that skimming
through my inbox trying to decide what is spam to be deleted and what
might be a valid email... (you should always place the word 'ferret'
in the subject of email you want me to read, lol)
[Posted in FML issue 5118]