2. Closely related to Otters, Badgers, and
Skunks
Carnivores
Bred for hunting Rats and other rodents in
Germany and Holland
Used in the United Kingdom for Rabbit
hunting and Rat control
Also used for racing in the United Kingdom
In the 1970’s became popular pets in the
United States and are now ranked 3rd most
popular pet next under dogs and cats
3. • Lifespan – 5-11 years
• Age at Sexual Maturity – 6-12 months
• Minimum Breeding Age – 8-12 months
• Duration of Estrous Cycle – Continuous until
intromission
• Type of Copulation – Induced ovulators
• Ovulation Time – 30-40 hours after mating
• Estrous Cycle – Monestrus, March through
August
• Length of Breeding Life – 2-5 years
4. • Copulation Time – Up to 3 hours
• Returns to Estrus – Next March, occasionally
postpartum estrus
• Gestation Period – 42 +/- 2 days
• Litter Size – 8, average (range, 1-18)
• Birth Weight – 6-12 grams
• Eyes Open – 34 days
• Onset of Hearing – 32 days
• Weaning – 6-8 weeks
• Habits – One male to several females; in colony
production
5. A Hob’s penis look like little belly button
halfway towards the end of their stomach
Photo Credit:
http://makloox.zoohaven.com/
other/images/ferret_male.jpg
Photo Credit: Rebecca Nolan -
Panda Bear
NeuteredUnneutered
6. Hob’s have a j-shaped “penis bone” called the
baculum
“Barbs” on the Hob’s penis like a cat
Ventrally situated Penis (similar to the dog)
A Hob’s breeding life can be around 5+ years
7. Female out of estrous
Photo Credit: http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-
online.com/images/female-ferret-vulva.jpg
8. Female in estrous
Photo Credit: http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-
online.com/images/vulva-female-ferret-estrous.jpg
9. Secrete high levels of estrogen, while in heat
If the estrogen stays in the blood for a too long,
it affects the bone marrow, which in turns causes
WBC’s to stop producing adequate numbers
This leaves them more susceptible to an
infection.
Serious/ life threatening anemia will also occur
as a result
Important to spay, if not going to breed.
http://www.lbah.com/word/spay-ferret/
Jill’s will undergo a photoperiod of 16 hours light
and 8 hours dark in order to breed
10. Pregnancy Toxemia – a negative energy balance
in late pregnancy
◦ Develops during the last week of gestation
◦ During periods of food deprivation or anorexia. Also can
happen with large litter sizes
RX: emergency inpatient
Cesarean section is required to save the Jill’s life but kits
may not survive if delivered at less than 40 days into
gestation
Mastitis – inflammation of mammary tissue
◦ Happens in postpartum Jills
◦ Develops from nursing
◦ Can be acute or chronic
RX: antibiotics – amoxicillin with clavulanic acid
11. Pyometra and Stump Pyometra
◦ Pyometra – a life-threatening uterine infection
◦ Stump Pyometra – an infection of the uterine
remnant
RX – Inpatient or surgery
Hyperestrogenism – high or relative
concentrations of sex hormones such as
estradiol, estrone, and estriol
◦ RX – hospitalization
12. Swollen Vulva – swelling of the vulvar tissue
◦ Occurs from high levels of estrogen in the blood
RX – usually outpatient unless the ferret is debilitated
or anemic
Aplastic Anemia – a complete loss of red
blood cells from the bone marrow when a Jill
comes into heat
◦ If the Jill is not mated during heat this will occur
RX – Mating her, giving her a “Jill jab” at the vets,
mating to a vasectomized male during her heat period
What’s in a Jill jab? – HCG (Human Chorionic
Gonadotrophin) and cystelorlin
13. Vaginal Discharge – substances coming from
the vulvar labia
◦ Affects the reproductive, endocrine, renal/urologic,
and skin/exocrine systems
RX – outpatient unless pyometra or hyperestrogenism
Hospitalization if showing signs of anemia of
hemorrhage from hyperestrogenism or pyometra
ferrets with anerexia
14. • Neck Grab (scruff)
• Hob dragging the Jill around
• Screaming from the Jill
• Takes several hours
• Leave the Hob and Jill together
all day to make sure she’s
conceived
• Eat and drink between times of
parturition
• Mounting several times
Photo Credit: Pam VanOverloop
15. Ferrets go through a “photoperiod” of 16
hours light, 8 hours dark
This is what helps them go into their estrous
cycle
The Jill must be exposed to this for 2-3
weeks in order to go into estrus
She will need to be fed a diet high in protein,
calcium, and vitamins D and E which helps to
boost fertility
16. Jills can be injured or even killed by the Hob
by him “missing” her scruff and grabbing her
face
Go into a silent heat
Could get a vaginal cysts that need to be
removed surgically
Can go into season and not come out
Psuedopregnancy
17. The hob can be infertile
He can be clueless on how to copulate
Can be injured by the Jill
He could mate the Jill in the anus and cause
an ecoli infection in one or both testicles –
requires immediate neutering
Hobs can come into season and not go out
which results in hair loss very much like
adrenal disease – this goes away with
neutering and the hair grows back
18. The Jill could be a bad mom
Jills may ignore the kits
Jills may eat the kits after they are born
Injury of the kits
Rejection of kits
Insufficient milk production
Abundance of low quality milk
Over production of milk requiring the Jill to
be milked which can lead to mastitis
Kits can chew off the Jill’s nipples
19. A result of a Jill eating limbs of her
kit. Munchkin is still alive today and
owned by Pam VanOverloop.
Pam had another
litter of kits where
the mother ate half
the bodies of her kits
due to stress.
22. Weights of Kits per day:
Picture 1: 2 days 1.8gr
Picture 2: 9 days 5.0gr
Picture 3: 12 days 6.8gr
Picture 4: 2 weeks 8.8gr
Picture 5: 3 weeks 13.8gr
Kits are weighed by
grams
Photo Credit: Pam
VanOverloop
23. Vickie McKimmey – Office Manager at the AFA and
ferret breeder
Pam VanOverloop – Ferret breeder
Kay Amrine – Ferret breeder
Mary McCarty – Ferret breeder
Oglesbee, Barbara L. Blackwell's Five-minute
Veterinary Consult: Small Mammal. Chichester: Wiley-
Blackwell, 2011. Print.
Fox, James G., Lynn C. Anderson, Franklin M. Loew,
and Fred W. Quimby. Laboratory Animal Medicine 2nd
Edition. Amsterdam [etc.: Academic, 2002. Print.
"Aplastic Anemia in Ferrets." All-About-Ferrets.com -
. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013.
