*Please remember that I am not a vet or a vet-tech.* Hello everyone. Some one the other day asked about the practice of premedicating a ferret prior to vaccination. This subject came up recently in a conversation I had with my friend who is a vet tech. Now, I trust this person implicitly when it comes to ferret information. You will want to have your vet confirm this information with United Vaccine or the AVMA. United Vaccine suggests that ferrets be premedicated prior to vaccination with FerVac, which is the only approved ferret distemper vaccine. This suggestion is written on the FerVac packaging. Have your vet look for it. There are no suggestions on any other vaccines because they are not approved for ferrets so there is no comment on their requirements. My friend has attended veterinary conferences, specifically concerning ferrets, and it has been repeated there. The veterinary associations suggest that ferrets be premedicated prior to vaccination. Check the ferret medical texts. I'm told that Fox also suggests premedication in his book. Show this to your vet too. Ferrets are commonly given injectable Benadryl 10 -20 minutes prior to any vaccination. This will generally prevent any reactions. Distemper vaccines are more dangerous and the most common cause of reaction, but reaction to a rabies vaccine can occur. Some few ferrets will react anyway. At this point, my friend suggests, you need to consider the safety of the ferret versus it's likelihood of exposure. Again, talk to your vet about this. I, personally, have had 3 ferrets react to a distemper vaccine. It was ugly and terrifying and I never want to have it happen again. Two minutes after vaccination, my two big young hobs became unconscious and passed violent, bloody diarrhea. They immediately became dehydrated and felt very hot. We, their breeder and I, gave them subcutaneous fluids and ran them (at 90 miles per hour up the NJ Turnpike!) to the emergency vet who administered prednisone and more fluids. While there, another ferret began reacting, tho not as strongly. This was 20 minutes later! He was given the same treatment. Thankfully all of the ferrets survived and are fine. My heart and nerves may never recover. If you have a vet that refuses to premedicate, tho I can't see why they would, you can always do it yourself if you must. I would. You can use Pediatric Benadryl (it *must* be pediatric) at 1/2cc for a male and 1/4cc for a female or kit. This is the dosage told to me by my friend. Again, I don't see why you'd have to do this, but it is an option. Benadryl will not hurt the ferret, tho it may make it somewhat drowsy. One further note. If you have a vaccine reaction, please have your vet report it to the USDA. Most vets, if they report at all, report the reaction to the manufacturer. The manufacturer has no requirement to report the numbers of reactions to the USDA, who regulates the efficacy and virulence of vaccines, human or animal. As you've probably become aware if you read this list, there appears (and this is not just my observation talking here) to be a problem with the ferret distemper vaccine as it causes many ferrets to react, some seriously, some fatally. If the USDA is not aware of the numbers, they cannot take action to have the manufacturer research the problem. I, for one, would like to see a safer vaccine developed and released to the public. (There is the one Sukie mentioned; the one developed and tested on zoo mustelids and other mammals; the one that has proven itself to be safe. Have your vet contact the manufacturer, whose name I've forgotten, with requests for info and pleas for this safer alternative to FerVac. Thanks for reading this. Good luck to everyone. I've also got vaccinations coming up for my kids. Anastasia Kidd Plainfield, NJ PS: For anyone planning on coming to the Pennsauken ferret show on March 25th, look for the ADV booth. I'll be baking tons of chocolate chip cookies to benefit the research fund. I'm told I bake a delicious, rich, chocolate chip cookie. Come by and give them a try! [Posted in FML issue 2983]