>The ten day quarantine is a good thing for vaccinated animals, but if you
>look in the Compendium you'll find that something like 60 days is advised
>"just in case" when the history of a dog, cat, or ferret is unknown.
>That's logical; it certainly seems to give a safety window.
 
Actually the 10 day quarantine recommended by the Compendium is for
vaccinated and unvaccinated ferrets.  Studies have shown that if the ferret
has not come down with signs of rabies by then, the ferret could not have
transmitted the disease through a lick or bite.  HOWEVER, the ferret could
still have rabies and develop the signs later.  It's just that it could not
have transmitted it through the previous potential exposure.  The 60 day
quarantine (I believe it is 90 days) is for an unvaccinated ferret to see
if it later develops the signs.  After that time, you can be sure that the
ferret was not exposed.  Until then, any bite is a potential for exposure
and would require an additional 10 day quarantine from that point.
 
You're right about the probability of contracting the disease being low.
Less than 25 ferrets have been positively identified as having rabies since
1958 when the CDC first began keeping records.  There has never been a
confirmed case of a ferret passing rabies to a human or another animal.
The recent shedding studies have shown that, except for the raccoon variant
of the rabies virus, the ferret either doesn't contract the disease, or
dies before it become contagious.
 
>Q: Sometimes he still has tarry and runny stools.  I want to get another
>   ferret to keep him company, but I think the Helicobacter is contagious.
 
A: Helicobacter is contagious, but most ferrets carry it in their gut
without showing symptoms.  It often gets out of control if the ferret
becomes stressed (new food, new ferret, new home, etc.) The standard
treatment is Amoxicillin, Chloramphenicol and Pepto Bismal.  Since
helicobacter often causes ulcers, sulcrafate is usually given after the
meds and before the Pepto to coat the ulcerated tissue to allow it to heal.
 
>Q: I was wondering how often ferrets eat in a day?  I heard that they
>   digest their food within 3 hours but I'm sure they don't eat every 3
>   hours.  Does anybody know how often they do eat?  I was wondering how
>   often I would have to feed the ferrets if they ever got sick and needed
>   feeding.
 
A: We let our ferret free feed -- keep a bowl of food for them to eat
whenever they are hungry.  When we are nursing a sick ferret, we usually
syringe feed and water (when they are not eating on their own) about every
3 hours just to keep something on their stomach and to keep then hydrated.
 
Dick B.  -- Not a vet
[Posted in FML issue 2770]