From:
sukieferret
Date: 2002-04-25 17:58:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Shaving a ferret
> The first time my ferret had blood taken I completely FREAKED
>OUT!!! MY boy had his neck shaved and like 9 puncture marks.
>I was quite verbally rude about my Vet on one of the sites I visit.
>I then got a couple of e-mails from vets and others who have
>had it done explaining that very thing. Very small veins and my
>boy was extremely dehydrated so the veins had shrunk even
>more.
Yes, plus their skin is thick and hard to get through, and the
veins can be rubbery -- shifting around so that the needle
pushes them to the side. A lot depends on the indiivdual ferret,
the condition of the ferret, nad how sensitive the individual vet's
fingers are. Remember that not everyone has as good a sense
of touch as another may have.
Our's typically are shaved in that location to reduce the chance of
unproductive sticks, then someone holds the bottom of the ferret
(Steve usually), some scruffs the ferret and gives a treat (me
usually) -- sometimes Nutrical but usually Ferretone from a tiny
bottle -- and the vet, shaves, swabs and sticks. With this method
it is typically easy enough to get the job done and the alcohol
swab is usually minded more than the stick.
Some individuals are hard to get done, though, and some have
viens that collapse too easily. Warp's last blood test involved
blood from 4 to 5 sequential sticks in separate locations; she is
very hard to sample plus she clots well.