Hi everybody,
 
I was very alarmed to read of the 2 kits who tested positive for ADV at 9
weeks.
 
In the January issue of my organization's newsletter I wrote an article
about the importance of having a small "sick cage" on hand for your
business of ferrets.  Among the uses of a small one-level "sick cage" are
recovery and quarantine.  You can view the article at
http://www.neferrets.org/id41.htm.
 
Most of us think of "quarantine" as something that needs to only happen
at a shelter, or when ferrets are being quarantined to watch for rabies
symptoms.  But for anyone bringing home a brand-new kit, quarantine should
be something to consider carefully, not just for the possibility of ADV or
ECE (there was a post just last week about a ferret kit who brought ECE
into the existing colony with tragic results), but also to start a kit off
right with good litter habits and cage manners!
 
Kits should be kept separate for at least a few weeks anyway, in my humble
opinion.  This gives you a chance to get them to the vet and get them
their check-ups before they interact with the exisiting ferret bunch.
If they are carrying ECE or ADV, you can test for it and if they test
positive, you know they cannot mingle with the rest of the gang.
 
A kit has a much better shot at being litter-trained if it starts out in a
smaller, one-lever cage with distinct areas to eat, sleep, and poop.  If
the kit is placed immediately into a larger cage with the older ferrets,
he/she MIGHT follow their example and use the litterbox, but being so
tiny and young, a kit is more likely to just start using any available
corner of a larger cage as a latrine.  And older ferrets may pick up that
behavior rather than the kit picking up theirs ("Hey, Bandit, did you know
we could poop over here on the shelf?  This is WAY more convenient than
having to go all the way down the ramp!").  Giving a kit a cage by itself
for the first few weeks has the benefit of a better chance at litterbox
training.  They also get used to their new food and water dishes (my last
new kit didn't join the rest of the gang in the "big cage" until she had
learned to stop flinging food like it was an Olympic event).
 
The last kit I bought was 4 and 1/2 years ago.  I separated her in
her own cage for about a month to get her used to living in a cage and
litter-train her.  However, not knowing then what I know now, I did NOT
keep her separate.  I introduced her at playtime and every day she and
the older ferrets had "out time" together.  If she had been an ECE
carrier, it could have been disastrous for me.  I got lucky.  Others
have not.
 
To those with the ADV+ kits, it's important to get in touch with the
breeder and the pet store ASAP.  If the vet who diagnosed is willing to
intercede and call instead, the pet store will probably take them more
seriously (the person who had the ECE kit found that the pet store was
pretty uninterested in the problem and didn't know what ECE is).  The
breeder should be notified immediately.  They may be unaware that they
have ADV+ kits, and even if they're testing them, they may be getting a
false negative if the disease hasn't shown up yet.  CALL.  WRITE.  Get
your vet to contact them if they're willing.  A breeder shipping out ADV
kits is putting a lot of ferrets at risk and they need a heads up
immediately.
 
-Heather W. in Massachusetts
[Posted in FML issue 3684]