I know they give shots at the vet but I'm guessing that's going to
cost quite a bit compared to if I give it to him orally. My syringe
is in MLs . I'm worried about my DEW Edgar having a reactions as hes
never had his shots. He is a big boy weighing 3 lbs min 4 lbs max he
has never been weighed though so I'm not sure.

There are a lot of things packed in here that I'd like to respond to:
I'm not clear as to whether you're thinking of injecting your ferrets
with vaccine yourself, or just pre-medicating with benadryl yourself
before taking them to a vet. These vaccines can't be given orally. They
wouldn't be effective at all.

If you're thinking of vaccinating yourself, you need to be comfortable
with giving injections, and you need to be prepared to deal with a
reaction. Even with benadryl, reactions happen. Less often, but they
happen. I do a lot of treatments at home (under a vet's guidance) but
that's something I'm not personally comfortable doing.

If you're thinking of doing the pre-treating to save a couple of bucks,
you can, but you really need to discuss it with the vet to make sure
that they are OK with this, and to make sure that they are aware of
what meds are already in the ferret so that they don't over-medicate if
they aren't aware of what you've given. That's a good time to discuss
dosages as well.

For reference, if my ferrets have a respiratory infection or flu, I
sometimes give 0.5cc of children's benadryl to help them breathe
easier.

One other thing that I ALWAYS advocate to people who adopt from me, is
to invest $20 - 30 in a small kitchen scale that measures either in
fractions of an ounce or grams. Weigh your ferrets periodically (weekly
or monthly if they're healthy) and keep a record. It's easy to do as
part of your nail clipping routine. That way you'll know if a ferret's
weight suddenly changes, which is very important when determining how
serious an illness is, and is excellent information for your vet.

Kevin Farlee
Washington Ferret Rescue & Shelter

[Posted in FML 6568]