This post is a bit of a warning about a horrible disease that, so far, has
killed each and every ferret that has contracted it.  As far as can be told,
there is no cure or treatment to alleviate the symptoms, and it appears to
be 100% fatal to the little monsters.  It is viral, so antibiotics won't
kill the bugs.  Additionally, it seems to capable of spreading a variety of
different ways, including air.  Even worse, it can take quite some time for
the disease to kill the ferret, allowing it to spread to other ferrets
within the business.
 
Symptoms include drippy eyes and nose; sometimes the dripping is clear or
yellowish, and can drip enough so when it dries, it forms a crusty, almost
scab-like material that is loaded with the virus.  These same types of
crusts can form on the chin, or even on the pads of the feet, which crack
and flake.  Some ferrets will vomit or get the runs, others will have a
cough or have difficulty of breathing.  Some run high temperatures or have
severe muscle twitching.
 
It gets worse.  Many ferrets start to have seizures, quite debilitating.
The ferret will look disorientated, have a severe seizure, then remain dazed
for periods of time afterwards.  Often the ferret will scream in agony
during the seizures.  Usually, during one of these seizures, the ferret
will die.
 
The entire process can take weeks for the ferret to actually die from the
disease, and they all do.  Worse, the period of incubation varies, and can
be as long as several weeks, so your ferrets can be infected and spread the
virus to your clothing and other ferrets without your knowledge.  Entire
businesses have been completely wiped out; that's 100% losses, folks.
 
I was asked what it would cost to identify and come up with a cure for this
virus, and I just shook my head, thinking of the difficulty and cost for
rabies and ECE.  But I got out my calculator, did some figures, and came up
with 5 bucks.
 
Thats right, $5.  Oh, it might cost a few bucks more or less depending on
where you live, but $5 is about right.  Why so cheap?  Because the
innoculant is already invented, the disease already studied, and the effects
already understood.  How, you ask?
 
Because this disease is canine distemper, which is 100% deadly to ferrets.
The reason I brought this up is because there is a sort of strange attitude
towards this disease, and many people ignore giving ferrets their shots
until it is too late.  In the last week, I had three different people call
me to discuss distemper in their ferts, and I had to tell them there was no
hope at all.  In each case, the ferret didn't have a distemper shot; 2 were
kits, and one was 3 but never had the shot before.
 
This is springtime and dogs and cats are going to be running all over the
place, and canine distemper can come into your home on the pant legs of your
child, or hundreds of other ways.  This disease is almost always
preventable; lets not forget or put it off, ok?  I always recommend a vet
visit for these shots; it helps the vet keep in touch with your ferret and
helps to catch problems early.  Some shelters or people with lots of ferrets
give the shots themselves.  I use the vet.
 
Sorry for tricking you, but people really need to take care of this before
it becomes a problem.  That is, unless you love watching sweet little ferts
die in the middle of seizures, all the while screaming and writhing in
agony.  Its up to you.
[Posted in FML issue 1934]