Ferret Vaccinations

Ferret Vaccinations.
Ferrets Need A Series Of Distemper Shots And One Rabies Shot The First Year. Here Is The Schedule For Recommended Ferret Shots And What To Watch Out For.

The manufacture recommends shots at 8, 11, and 14 weeks. There are some vets that recommend four shots, three weeks apart. Two shots are not enough. Give a yearly booster. A distemper shot is much more important than a rabies when it comes to your ferret's health.

Adults who have never been vaccinated or whose vaccination status is not known should get two shots three weeks apart, then a yearly booster.

Rabies
Imrab-3 rabies vaccine is used. Ferret vaccination should be one subcutaneous shot at 14-16 weeks old. Do not give this at the same time as the distemper shot. These vaccines (distemper and rabies) should be given 2-3 weeks apart to avoid adverse reactions. Rabies booster yearly. Your vet should have this rabies vaccine on hand as it is the same used for cats and dogs. This is the only rabies vaccine that is approved for ferrets but the company has not done test to see how long it lasts in ferrets so once a year is recommended.

Ferrets vaccinations do not need to include parvo. They do not need a 5-way vaccine. They CAN contract Bordatella (kennel cough) but this is rare. The effectiveness of the vaccine is unknown if ferrets. Do not vaccinate for this unless you are going to be boarding at a kennel and the kennel or other facility requires it. Make sure they really require it. Intranasal Bordatella vaccine has been known to give ferrets the disease.

Ferret vaccination schedule may be changed to better accommodate your schedule it is safe to give vaccines as long as it has been at least a month since the last one was given.

You should be aware that most states in the USA do not recognize the rabies vaccine for ferrets.Official studies of virus shedding time in these pets are yet to be done. What this means is, even if your pal has had a rabies shot and he bites someone, he still may required to be destroyed if the bitten person goes to the doctor or the authorities. If he has had the vaccine perhaps this will be enough to stop the person from reporting the bite. As for all animals, if they should bite and the victim goes to the doctor, the doctor is required to report it to the authorities. The rabies vaccine will protect your ferret from getting rabies. I hear all to often that someone vwill not bother to get there pet rabies vaccinated because they do not let them outside. It is possible for your slinky friend could escape thus being vulnerable to the disease. Also, think of this scenario. A rabid animal such as a bat gets into your home and bite your pets. Guess what? Your unvaccinated pet just got rabies. This goes for all warm blooded pets. Cats, Dogs, Ferrets etc. Always make sure your warm blooded pets have their rabies vaccinations up to date.

Vaccine reactions
As with all animals there are the occasional adverse reactions to vaccines. With ferrets it is typically on the second or third exposure to a particular vaccine. Giving the distemper and rabies vaccines at separate times (2 weeks apart) will help to reduce the risk of a reaction. There are several kinds of reactions that are possible. First, the most dangerous, an anaphylactic reaction. This usually will occur within an hour after the vaccination. Think about staying at the vets office for 30-60 minutes after a vaccination just in case. You should watch for vomiting, diarrhea or loss of bladder or bowel control. Signs of nausea or dizziness. Dark bluish-purple blotches spreading under the skin. Difficulty breathing. Pale or bright pink gums, ears, feet or nose. Seizures, convulsions, passing out or anything else that's alarming. Any bad reactions are hard to miss. The ferret should be looked at by the veterinarian right away. Most likely it will be given a shot of antihistamine, maybe some epinephrine or a corticosteroid.
If the reaction is a mild to moderate anaphylactic reaction you could try pretreating with an antihistamine or try switching vaccine brands. If you used Fervac try Galaxy or vise versa. If there was a severe reaction talk over the dangers of not vaccinating with you vet to decide what to do.
Most of the delayed reactions are not dangerous. Your ferret may be acting tired, showing flu-like symptoms or possibly vomiting a little withing a day or two after the vaccination. As long as the symptoms do not last longer than a day and do not seem to be extreme, there is no need to worry. If it has trouble breathing, is more that a little lethargic, or shows other worrisome symptoms, call you vet. If you are not sure it is still a good idea to contact your vet to be safe. Antihistamines do not help much with a delayed reaction but you may want to pretreat for this also.

Jeff Johnston, an epidemiologist (though not specifically for ferrets), comments:
One thing that isn't proven but is worth a try is to give your ferret the contents of a small-dose vitamin E capsule (say, 100 IU) a few days before the injection. Vitamin E in large doses suppresses inflammatory responses (also suppresses vitamin K and clotting, so warn your vet if blood is taken for any reason). It may help blunt any reaction. Vitamin E is also fairly non-toxic, too, so 100 IU once every few months shouldn't hurt. [Don't use more than that, though; anything can be toxic in large enough doses.]




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