>From:    Hayley Logan <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Ferrets in heat
>I own 2 female ferrets and have to get them spayed/desexed I no it has to
>be done and am going to do it very soon as they have started to get a
>swolen volva
 
Hayley!  Take your girls in to be spayed (desexed) as soon as possible!
It is VERY important that you do not let this go!
 
>is $93 australian dollers a normal price??  I just thought it was a little
>dear??
 
Is that each or for the pair.  From my experience in Oz, desexes in
ferrets are about the same cost as they are in cats - as they should be.
Contact your local club (are you in Victoria?).  Contact me at
[log in to unmask] for information on clubs or vets in your area and
I will help you find one (or find somebody that can help you).
 
>also if I bread them - I dont really want to yet cause I dont no much.
 
Learning more about them is a *very* good idea.  I suggest that you spay
these girls and learn all about ferret care, diseases, etc.  After all -
you just 14 and have heaps of time to breed ferrets!  <g>
 
>Are there many difficulties involving mating, birth and after effects??
 
Yes, there can be.  It seems that you know about estrogen induced anemia
(aplastic anemia) if a jill is left in season and not bred.  In fact, at
least one time while a jill is in estrus (heat; season) she will suffer
from a mild case of EIA (from Fox et al's book).  There are whelping,
infections, nutrition, as well as heaps of other problems - including loss
of the kits, or - heaven forbid - the jill.  Here in Australia, a friend
of mine had a litter where one kit was a runt and was not strong enough
to nurse and fend off the other kits for her nipple.  Therefore, my friend
fed her and I took over while she was at work.  Sadly enough, the little
girl passed on.  No matter how many times a thing like that happens, it is
extremely heart wrenching and emotionally draining.  Anyhow, there are some
ferret breeding and genetic mailing lists to sign up for on eGroups.  Just
do a search and you should find them.  These lists have many breeders
(mostly in the US) that are a wealth of information and will be happy to
answer direct questions.
 
>Ive been told I can mate them with a desexed male so they have a false
>pregency but will this hurt my 2 ferrets??
 
Actually, it is a vactomised male (meaning the testicles are still there
but the tube that delivers the semen from the testicles is snipped and
"disconected") or a v-hob.  It is pretty stressful for the jills to go thru
false pregnancies.  Their bodies behave exactly like they are pregnant -
trhey get fat, have hormone surges, etc.  I have even had jills that went
thruogh false pregnancies (and litters) and after they "recovered" they no
longer accepted their cage mates.
 
>And - one last question!- how long does it take for a female ferret to
>catch that amnemia thing - when u dont get them desexed?
 
According to James Fox et al's Biology and diseases of the Ferret a jill
can develop EIA after one month of being in estrus.  As all individuals
are different, I would imagine the time frame could differ (i.e. 3 weeks,
5 weeks, etc.)
 
>My local vet is a dickhead and doesnt no much bout ferrets so im
>travelling a little further to a vet thats had experience with ferrets
 
Let us know how you go!
 
Amy Flemming
Flemming Farms
Perth, Western Australia
http://www.geocities.com/flemmingfarms
[Posted in FML issue 3183]