FERRET VISITORS:
 
One HUGE question is if you should let your ferret have other ferrets as
visitors when they are in the hospital cage.  It not a simple answer
because, frankly, it is situation dependent.  Pros of allowing ferret
visitors are that the ferret may be bonded to a specific individual, and
separation may be highly stressful, so keeping them together reduces
stress.  Ferret visitors that sleep with the sick ferret will not only
help keep them warm, but the touch and grooming could stimulate the
immune system.  The activity patterns of the healthy ferret can stimulate
similar patterns in the sick one, as well as help reduce boredom.
 
The cons are generally subtler than the simple worry the visiting ferret
might accidentally rip out stitches or harm the sick ferret while trying
to play although both are possible.  Ferrets instinctively groom one
another, and injury or surgical sites can be licked until raw, increasing
discomfort and chance of infection.  Visiting ferrets can introduce
pathogens that are benign to healthy ferrets, but potentially dangerous
to sick ferrets with stressed immune systems.  Conversely, sick ferrets
could contaminate a healthy one, sending nasty bugs back to the rest of
the business, causing real troubles (get a ferret with crusty eyes and
a runny nose that turns out to be distemper and you'll understand the
danger).  Having a visiting ferret makes it very difficult to monitor
urine and stool output, water intake, and food consumption.  It also
makes it harder to use the nest box to transport the sick ferret, or
to get a weight using the technique of nest box weighing.
 
There are a couple other cons rarely realized.  Sometimes an individual
ferret REQUIRES an environment having reduced stimulation; a finding only
recently discovered in premature babies.  It is hard to predict which
ferret will be overly stimulated, so each one must be individually
evaluated.  The presence of visiting ferrets can increase the energy
demands of the sick ferret even though they may save some energy from
being burned to stay warm.  The presence of another ferret could make
the sick one more active or restless during the time they should be more
subdued.  For example, suppose a visiting ferret saves the sick one 300
calories from being burned as body heat, but costs the sick one 500
calories being burned because the ferret is more active and isn't resting
as deeply.  If the sick ferret can or will eat more to offset the loss,
then the matter is moot, but if not, then it is a problem.  The other
consideration is the effect of the hospital cage environment on the
healthy ferret.  The cage is designed to be a boring environment so the
sick ferret will retire and rest, spending caloric energy on recovery.
Is subjecting a healthy ferret to that environment fair?
 
As for myself, I generally find the pros outweigh the cons and I will
rotate ferrets--those I know to be friendly towards the sick one --
through the hospital cage.  For example, a few weeks ago, Lady Noir
started losing weight.  I placed her in "hospital cage isolation" for
a few days to get a handle on her body functions, and realized she had
some sort of urinary tract infection.  Off to the vet she went with all
my data and observations, back she came with medicines and IV fluids
for sub-q hydration, and in went Carbone for a visit.  The next day,
Tui visited, followed by Jezabel, and others for about a week until her
antibiotic therapy was finished.  She spent two days by herself so I
could pinpoint changes in her body functions that supported a recovery,
and when they passed with flying colors, she was reunited with the group
to mind her own business.
 
You have to decide this one for yourself, because you know your ferrets
better than anyone else.  Ethics and morality demand you choose the best
situation for the recovery of your ferret, and if allowing a visiting
ferret into the hospital cage does not cause harm, then it is no problem.
 
Bob C
[Posted in FML issue 4404]