Regarding heartworm prevention-
 
Last summer I purchased 2 kits from a Florida breeder. She gave me
two bottles of Ivermectin for them. She said she had all her ferrets
on it. I talked to my vet about it (I live in Delaware), I didn't
know how much of a problem heartworms would be here. She said to
give them monthly doses for three months to make sure they were free
of worms and then to stop. She had spoken to other vets who felt
that Ivermectin could have adverse effects in breeding animals.
Since I plan on breeding them I didn't want to take any chances. My
babies are house kept and the only time they would really be exposed
to mosquitoes would be on rare occasions like Ferret Picnics and
such. I lost a dog to heartworms many, many years ago when
heartworms were still pretty much unheard of. He had adverse
reactions to the cure and couldn't take it. How common is heartworms
in ferrets and has anyone heard of problems with breeding animals
and Ivermectin?
 
Cindy
 
[Posted in FML issue 0731]