What are your tips for keeping a pet ferret as healthy as possible?

I am to be getting a pet ferret soon and I understand that they are prone to illness and unfortunately terminal disease. So I was wondering some things you can do to keep a ferret as healthy as possible, and anything that may prevent sickness. Also, do you recommend buying from a pet store or home breeder? Do home breeders usually spay/neuter, and get the shots for the ferret babies?

Be as detailed as possible! I know they are a difficult pet to take care of and I want to be prepared.

Well, yes, the major players are:

Adrenal Disease - this is not really "terminal" unless you don't get surgery. If you get surgery for your ferret, he can live to a ripe old age. You cannot do much to prevent it as in some ferrets it's environmental, some probably are predisposed - make sure your ferret has at least 10 hours a day in total darkness. That means cover up any electric lights (the green, red, or orange electronic lights, or alarm clock lights). The 10 hours will help their hormone levels think it's winter.

Insulinoma - this disease is terminal. You may have surgery, but it is a temporary fix. Only feed meat based treats. Make sure you have a blood glucose check at the vet every 6 months, and if you have the money, every three months. This will see if you have a problem with your ferret becoming insulinomic. If so, you can start on medicines to control the symptoms. If you don't catch it in time, your ferret could crash, and go into a coma. There are three medicines you can give a ferret to deal with this disease, and they are prednisilone, prednisone, and if those wear off, you can use diazoxide.

The third, unpreventable disease is lymphoma. Just hold your ferret every day and feel around for lumps and bumps. Under the armpits, too! If you catch lymphoma in time, you can get the lump removed before it has a huge blood supply growing into it. You may also try chemotherapy with your vet if the ferret is a good candidate for it, called Tuft's protocol.

There are other diseases, of course, like ADV, Aleutians Disease. This is a contagious disease. Keep your ferrets indoors, limit contact with any other animals, as it can be spread by skunks, and other animals. There is no cure or vaccine for ADV yet.

Rabies - the same treatment as ADV, except get a yearly rabies vaccine. We stop vaccinating after age 3 for rabies due to the vaccine reactions ferrets can have.

Distemper - the same treatment, no outside play and no contact with other ferrets, dogs, or cats. Yearly or bi-annual distemper shots.

To keep your ferrets from getting any outdoors diseases, take off your shoes while in the house, and don't allow ferrets to play in or with your shoes or anything that has been outside. Some of the diseases can be carried indoors on your shoes, like ADV, but some like rabies are spread through bites and saliva.

Buying from a petstore or a breeder just depends on who really bred the ferret. All ferret breeders nowawdays are breeding pretty well mannered yet somewhat hyper kits, but they mellow out after about 8 months old. If you do buy from a breeder, make sure the breeder has a list of customers you can contact and get references from, and ask them if they are happy with their ferrets. If they only give you a few, or just don't give you any numbers to call, beware. Sometimes breeders breed bad ferrets who have heart problems or other issues.

Home breeders generally spay and neuter at 6 months to a year old. So you will probably have to do it yourself at your vet if you get one from a breeder. You will have to, because a male ferret can become testy, and a female ferret can become very ill if not spayed.

Even if you never get the distemper or rabies shots again for your ferret, the first year IS very critical. You must get these shots or your ferret will probably get distemper at some point in its life. The ferret will need four shots in its first year - one rabies at 6 months, and three distemper shots.

After the distemper shots, your ferret will be around 90% to 99% covered for distemper. Remember, vaccines only raise resistance to a disease, and each animal has a different level. The only way to check if they are covered is by taking some blood, called a titer, and checking it at a lab. Most of us just give the shots and hope they're covered.

Ferrets are not really difficult, but they are "different" and require a lot of time and energy to take care of. The main problem is that they are not usually always 100% reliable when it comes to the litterbox, and they can get into everything.

Another main health problem will be keeping them away from small rubber, foam, or well, anything! they can fit in their mouths. Destroying ferret safe toys can lead to a blockage inside their stomach or intestines. Keep toys that cannot be chewed apart, no plastic noses or eyes, no cloth or tails on the toys. Put all toys away at the end of the playtime and don't allow anything but the red Kong toys in the cage. When ferrets are in their cage they can destroy (and eat) a lot of different toys that they normally wouldn't bother with because they're bored.

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What pet would be best for a family with multiple young kids?

What type of pet would be best for a family with multiple kids under the age of 5? Something that isn't too messy or loud, but that gets along well with kids. Something that kids can play with and help care for.
something besides cats or dogs. Thanks!

Animals and young children dont usually mix well at all.
Small animals that are somewhat easy to care for such as hamsters are prone to biting, and the children can very easily kill the animal handling them to rough - kids just dont know their own strength.

Honestly, a dog is probably the best option. A nice natured and gentle dog can still be played with and the kids can help to care for it, but with much much less risk of harm to the children or animal than there is with rodents and birds etc.

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