When dealing with ferrets who are returnees:

Remember to use health cautions as if these were unknowns. For example,
they should not only be re-tested for parasites and ADV, but take the
right cautions that are used when there could be a possible CDV
exposure from the environs, for example, w your cleaning before
interacting w other animals and making sure all of your animals have
their vaccines on board, etc. Appropriate lengths of quarantine should
be used and so on.

Some diseases, like Aleutian Disease and Canine Distemper can stay for
extended periods in the environs, for example, on cages. Some parasites
also can have eggs in environs that can result in later infestations.

So, when animals wind up in a place with questionable conditions it
always needs to be considered that such exposures could have happened,
whether new or returnees, and just take the same precautions to prevent
any possible spread if there was exposure and infection, and do the
same testing and treatments as was done before.

Just a reminder that even if individuals were known before, the
environs weren't, so use the same behavior as for new arrivals rather
than modifying it to a less cautious state based on what they were like
before any possible exposures at the last location.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html

[Posted in FML 5809]