From:
Steve Austin
Date: 2003-08-15 16:20:59 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Re: Re: when to spay--need help!
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <20030815.122106.520.1.kazpat1@juno.com>
I am not wanting to start a debate, unless you are an experienced ferret
owner,
and are reliable to do what it takes if the ferret does not come out of
heat,
I wouldn't suggest keeping a whole female.
Just curious, I thought the ferret had to be in heat a bit before she
would get the aplastic anemia, in fact, I thought that it could also
happen
with a female with untreated adrenal disease since estrogens are
circulating
in both cases. It sounds like you are saying you have dealt with many
ferrets
dying from aplastic anemia. Since it is not that common to come across a
whole
ferret in the US ( unless you are close to some breeders) I haven't
actually
seen a case. However, I am wondering for those who live in Europe, where
spaying is not commonly done, do you see a lot of deaths from ferrets
left in heat
too long?
I thought the ferret had to be in estrus about 2 weeks before
using the jill jab and then it worked better- in fact that was how you
use it,
sometimes two injections are needed, and if that didnt' work
perhaps spaying the ferret as a last resort?
I think some owners want to delay the spay until the ferret
is older in hopes of decreasing the chances of adrenal disease later in
life ( not
that this is 100% correlated, but in general people think it is healthier
for the
animal to not be spayed at 4-6weeks of age but wait until a bit older)
I think anyone who owns a whole female has to be a very responsible owner
who is willing to go the extra step if the female stays in heat too long,
and
is aware of the risks if heat is prolonged ( I am not sure what length of
time
but common sense says a month is not too long otherwise in nature the
animal
would die all the time).
I think this is a good reason why no one is pushing for the big farms to
stop
the spaying/neutering of ferrets before they are sold to the general
public,
on one hand it is thought perhaps part of the reason the US has more
adrenal disease is from this early neuter, on the other hand could you
imagine
how many rescues there would be with females in prolonged heat, pregnant,
or just neglected because they "smell" and the added costs to the
shelters to have to alter the surrenders before adopting out?
I am happy that it is a rare thing for someone to get a whole ferret and
that
it is not a common problem to see ferrets die from aplastic anemia.
Patty
> Your suggestion seems kind of risky, putting your
> jills through so much, to get them out of heat, if you
> don't mind me asking, why do you not just get them
> spayed? Is it because you plan to breed them next
> year?
> I guess after seeing perfectly healthy and
> beautiful ferrets die such horrible deaths from
> prolonged heat, it seems that a simple spay performed
> before the ferret reaches estrus, would prevent such
> an uneccesary and terrible demise---Angela.
>
>
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