From:
"Gabbie"
Date: 2007-07-28 05:44:11 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] questions about health concerns in stray ferret
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
this morning i found a small ferret roaming around a grassy "dog walk" area in my
apartment complex. he seemed friendly and ran right up to me. i was sure he belonged to
my neighbor, because they house him on their patio and just last week he escaped and
someone else found him.
i brought him home with me of course, and put him a spare puppy crate i had with some
food and water. he's friendly, and never hissed or got angry, but at one point he did bite
my foot rather hard. i thought nothing of it thinking he was just freaked out. it was later
on, like an hour ago, that i realized he wasn't my neighbors ferret after all....
now i'm not sure what to do with him. part of me feels like i should call animal services
tomorrow and have him taken away and go get my self a round of rabies shots. but at the
same time i dont know how big the chances are of him being rabid are, and i'd hate to
sacrifice the poor little guy for nothing. i know i should be concerned about my health, but
i've read that in "healthy looking" domestic animal bite cases, you can quarantine and
observe them for 10 days before having to take any action. now... i don't know if he's
healthy... i dont even know anything about ferrets or what a healthy acts like to begin
with. he seems pretty disoriented and keeps stumbling around with his back arched. but
then again he's been outside in 90 degree heat for who knows how long and probably
feels lost and confused.., and he was hungry and thirsty when i brought him in. now he
was sleeping and playing all day, he ate well and drank water, and seems happier than this
morning, but still a little disoriented, but i don't know if thats a sign of heat exhaustion,
rabies, or if its just normal behavior.
i couldn't find any info online about what the actual signs of rabies are in a ferret. i've read
that ferrets can't survive long in the wild anyway (especially not in this heat and torrential
rain) and i live in a suburban/semi-urban area with lots of cars and no stray or wild
animals (just some squirrels)... so if i picked him up, and he was still alive, it seems like
the chances of him being out there long enough to catch rabies is small, especially with
not many animals out there that could give it to him... or not? i don't know. should i still
turn him into animal services? part of me thinks (or hopes) i'm just being paranoid, but
then again... maybe not.
help!
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