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On occasion, ferrets do develop a disease. There are a few diseases that seem to plague ferrets but most can be avoided by following a structured diet for your ferret that is compromised of quality ferret foods. A healthy lifestyle can also speak volumes when it comes to keeping your ferret healthy and free from ferret disease.

You have to remember that ferrets are a bit different than most other house pets and they have to be treated differently because of this. They need plenty of exercise in addition to a good diet and they also need for you to make sure that anything that could harm him is not accessible to him.

Adrenal disease is common for ferrets. This is simply a tumor in the adrenal gland that may or not be cancerous. Often, adrenal disease can be prevented in ferrets by allowing them access to as much natural light as possible and avoid artificial light. Another method of prevention is to wait until your ferret is six months old before you have him spayed or neutered, allowing him to first reach sexual maturity. Finally, stress can be triggers for adrenal disease so do not expose your ferret to these types of situations.

Cancer of the pancreas is another disease that ferrets seems to get more often than other animals although normally not until the ferret is beyond age three. About half of all ferrets will get this disease. Unfortunately, the cause of this disease is unknown but it is certain that the disease is linked to genetics and diet. It is impossible to take prevention measures for this disease. Ferrets with this usually require surgery to remove the tumor, if possible. Some vets opt to medicate the ferret for the rest of his life instead.

Lymphoma is cancer of the white blood cells and this is another disease that ferrets are prone to. This is usually a disease in aging ferrets but that is not always the case. There are no prevention measures that can be taken for this disease as it is feared that it is hereditary.

Cardiomyopathy is another disease that is found usually, but not always in ferrets over three years old. This is where the walls of the heart either thicken or thin out, neither of which is good because it constricts blood flow. Many believe that this is a genetic condition but prevention measures include offering your ferret a well balanced and quality diet and also not to breed ferrets that have this condition.

Aplastic Anemia is very often a cause of death for female ferrets that have not been spayed and are not being bred. When ferrets are in heat they generate a lot of estrogen that affects the red and white blood cells amongst other things resulting in anemia and accompanying bacterial infections. This can be prevented by spaying jills that are not going to be bred.

You can help save your ferret’s life if you know these diseases, the causes and the signs. It is well worth the time and effort to read up on these things if you are or plan to be a ferret owner. Odds are that you will be glad you did.