Ferrets, To Neuter or Not?
Ferrets may seem like hardy, inquisitive individuals who can take care of themselves, but did you know that caring for your ferret’s reproductive health is vital for keeping these cute, friendly pets fit and healthy? However, the decision to neuter your ferret is not always straightforward, as even though neutering can improve the quality of life for most ferrets, especially females, neutered ferrets are at risk of developing health complications in later life.
What is neutering?
Neutering is also commonly referred to as desexing, fixing, or spaying in females (jills) and castration in males (hobs). For females, neutering involves removing either just the ovaries or both the ovaries and uterus, and for males it involves removing the testes.
Neutering is a surgical procedure, so it is always performed under general anaesthesia meaning that your pet will be asleep throughout. Our experienced veterinary team will carefully monitor your pet during their procedure and while they recover to ensure the surgery is as safe as possible.
Why do you want to neuter your ferret?
Keeping ferrets who have not been neutered may not always be very practical, especially if you share your home with your pet. They have a unique smell, produced by glands in their skin, which you may find strong, but this can be reduced by neutering. If you have a male and female ferret, you may also want to neuter them to protect against pregnancy and to prevent them from mating, which can be aggressive and distressing.
Reasons why you may be thinking about neutering your ferret:
- To prevent breeding and pregnancy
- To prevent your female ferret from coming into season each year
- To prevent females from developing life-threatening anaemia from having a prolonged season
- To prevent false pregnancies in females
- To reduce your ferret’s smell
- To reduce aggressive behaviour associated with mating
- To prevent reproductive cancers, including testicular cancer in males and ovarian or uterine cancer in females
Female ferrets remain in season if they are not mated
Female ferrets (jills) will come into season (or heat) every year in spring. They are induced ovulators, so if they are not mated or given the correct veterinary treatment to end their season, they will remain in season for many months, until the day length shortens in autumn.
Signs of a season include:
- Swollen vulva
- Vulval discharge
- Oily coat
- Behavioural changes
Unfortunately, jills left in season frequently develop a life-threatening anaemia, making management of your jill’s seasons an essential part of owning a female ferret. However, many pet parents do not want to mate their ferrets, so alternative ways to manage a ferret’s seasons will need to be considered.
Anaemia caused by a prolonged season
When a jill comes into season, the levels of the hormone oestrogen increase, which suppresses the bone marrow, decreasing its ability to make new red blood cells (the cells that travel through the bloodstream carrying oxygen). Red blood cells only have a limited life span before they need to be replaced by new red blood cells. If a jill is left in season, her body will not be able to replace these red blood cells, resulting in a life-threatening anaemia developing, which can be fatal without prompt veterinary treatment.
How to manage your ferret’s season
If you have a jill but do not want to breed from her, there are alternative ways to bring her out of season that do not risk her becoming pregnant. However, to keep your ferret healthy, you will need to ensure that her seasons are managed each year as, except for neutering, most options are not permanent.
There are several ways to bring a jill out of season:
- Neutering
- Suprelorin implant
- Mating with a vasectomised male
Neutering
Neutering is the surgical option for managing your ferret’s seasons. It has the advantage of permanently preventing your jill from coming into season so, for a one-off cost, you never again have to worry about your pet having a season and becoming unwell. There are also many other benefits to neutering your ferret, as listed above, that may improve your pet’s quality of life.
Adrenal disease associated with neutering
Unfortunately, both male and female neutered ferrets are at risk of developing adrenal disease (hyperadrenocorticism). This is where the adrenal glands become enlarged and start to produce increased levels of steroid hormones. This change may be benign, but in some ferrets, the enlarged adrenal glands may become cancerous, and the effects can be harmful even in non-cancerous enlargement.
Common changes associated with adrenal disease include:
- Hair loss
- Itchy skin
- Swollen vulva in females
- Difficulty urinating in males
- Increased aggressive behaviour
If your ferret develops adrenal disease, they will usually require lifelong treatment to manage their symptoms. Suprelorin implants are commonly used, though surgery may be an option for some ferrets.
Suprelorin implant
The Suprelorin implant can be used to chemically neuter your ferret and will not only bring your jill out of season, but it can also be used to temporarily castrate male ferrets. Alongside managing a ferret’s seasons, the implant will also protect against adrenal disease, cause temporary infertility, stop mating behaviours and reduce your ferret’s smell.
The implant usually lasts approximately 18 months, so if given at the start of the breeding season, it may protect your jill for 2 seasons, but when the implant stops working, it will need to be repeated. However, if you plan to breed from your ferret in the future, you should avoid using the Suprelorin implant, as there is no guarantee that fertility will return.
Mating with a vasectomised male ferret
A vasectomised male ferret has undergone a surgical procedure to stop him from being able to get a female pregnant. However, his hormone levels are not altered, so he will still mate with a jill to bring her out of season. Ferret mating can be aggressive and unpleasant to watch, so some ferret owners prefer to avoid using a vasectomised male to prevent any injuries occurring or distress to their pets.
Castration is a different procedure to a vasectomy and has a very different outcome, as during a castration the testes are removed, which alters your ferret’s hormone levels. This means that a castrated ferret will no longer mate with a female, allowing them to live peacefully together with less risk of aggressive behaviour. However, he is then potentially at risk of adrenal disease.
Hormonal Delvosteron injection (Jill jab)
Previously, the use of a hormonal injection at the beginning of a jills season was a popular choice for bringing your ferret out of season. However, this treatment has been discontinued, so many ferret owners are now using alternative treatments for managing their jills’ seasons. If you are undecided on the best treatment option for your ferret, our knowledgeable veterinary team are always happy to help answer your questions.
Choosing how to manage your female ferret’s seasons or whether to neuter your male ferret can be a difficult decision. If you decide to neuter your ferret, there are many benefits that can improve your ferret’s quality of life that may outweigh the risk of adrenal disease. Our veterinary team are always happy to answer any questions you may have about neutering and alternative options, so you can choose the best treatment for your ferret.
