Anesthesia for Ferrets

When it comes to anesthesia for ferrets, Isoflurane is the safest anesthetic to use and the post-operational recovery time is short. I've been told that you shouldn't use a vet who suggests using ketamine, an injectable anesthetic, for any operations as the procedure is extremely unpredictable.

Most ferrets bounce back after operations without any after-effects. However I've heard of at least 3 ferrets, here in Western Australia, which died after having anesthesia for cleaning their teeth! It could be that they had undiagnosed problems, which the anesthesia aggravated – we don’t know.

It's best for you to speak to your vet and make sure you're happy with the whole procedure if your ferret needs anesthesia.

Although technical, there are a couple of interesting sites which talk about anesthetics for ferrets, and would be good to print out for your vet, if he's not particularly knowledgeable ...

Ferret anesthesia and analgesia (Proceedings) by Jennifer Dupre, CVT, VTS

Small Mammal Anesthesia by Margaret A. Wissman, D.V.M., D.A.B.V.P.

Ferret anesthesia and analgesia (Proceedings) by Jennifer Dupre, CVT, VTS

Surgery & Anesthesia (Exotic Animal Medicine for the Veterinary Technician) by Bonnie M. Ballard, Ryan Cheek

DISCLAIMER: The information contained on this page is not meant to replace seeing a veterinarian if you think your ferret is ill. It’s only meant to supply general information on a particular illness which was obtained either from personal experience with my sick ferrets, or from books and/or the Internet.

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