To Cindy Sooy:
 
>Is there any danger or side effects associated with Ivermectin use in
>breeding ferrets?
 
    There are not supposed to be any side effects with the use of
ivermectin at recommended dosages in young or pregnant animals.
 
> 1) At what age should you start kits on Ivermectin?
 
    Probably around 16 weeks, the same time as they receive their last shots.
 
> 2) Dr. Williams mentioned a dosage of 30mcg/lb once a month, does Ivermectin
>come in a standard concentration?
 
    No, ivemectin is usually purchased as an injectable preparation for
worming horses, at, I believe, 100 mcg/ml.  Most vets dilute it out and put
it in brown bottles (sunlight can denature it nd cause it to be ineffective.)
 
> 3) Should all my ferrets be tested before I put them on medication? Is the
>test the same as for a dog?
 
      Adult ferrets should receive an OCCULT heartworm test.  Dogs are
usually tested by passing blood through a small filter and examining the
filter under the microscope fo the presence of larval heartworms, which
ciruclate in the peripheral blood.  With ferrets, the presence of these
wroms is unusual (due to the low numbers of heartworms carried by infected
ferrets) so this test is ineffective.  However, we can use an occult
heartworm test on blood samples from ferrets which tests for small proteins
shed by the worms.
 
    Young ferrets less than four months do not require testing, as the
worms have not had time to establish themselves as adults in the heart,
and are still susceptible to the effects of the ivermectin.
 
Bruce H. Williams, DVM         Dept. of Veterinary Pathology
Chief Pathologist, AccuPath    Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]         Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
                               [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1222]