Bitten by stray: The likelihood of you contracting rabies from this stray
ferret is slim to none, but the best thing would be to observe this ferret
for signs of rabies for the next 10 days, to satisfy animal control
authorities.  Ferrets have been shown to NOT shed the rabies virus in their
saliva from several rabies strains: skunk, vole, and fox.  This is from the
United States Centers for disease control, Blancou 1982, and Forster.  The
most recent U.S.  studies on bat and raccoon strains shows that the ferret
might shed the virus as a result of a raccoon transmission, but that the
ferrets in the study all showed sign within 2-3 days and died in 7-8 days.
This means that in a absolute worst case scenario, if you quarantined the
stray ferret for a week, you would know if it had rabies within that time.
 
Working on teeth: It sounds like your vet is going to perform a thorough
teeth cleaning under anaesthetic.  This involves what people go through in a
teeth cleaning: thorough scraping and removal of tartar on the teeth and
under the gumline.  When your ferret wakes up, his gums may be sore and
bleeding, but that will clear up once the bad stuff is gone.  Then I would
recommend regular (weekly or biweekly) toothbrushings.  A broken tooth is
not that much to worry about; I have several ferrets who have broken their
canines off and have suffered no ill effects.  Others of my older ferrets
have brown tips on their canines with no problem.  However, if the brown and
rotten part of the tooth extends into the gumline, removal might be
necessary.  Make sure your vet does not use ketamine to put your ferret
under.  Otherwise, your baby should be fine.
 
- Erika (and the magnificent 7)
[Posted in FML issue 1809]