Spaying and neutering a pet ferret is necessary for it to be healthy in your home. For example, neutering males stops them from spraying smelly mucous all over your home. It also stops them from developing aggressive tendencies. Spaying a female ferret is medically required, as an unaltered female ferret absolutely must breed if it is allowed to go into heat. Failing to breed an unaltered female ferret causes her to die of anemia. Some ferret owners recommend waiting until a ferret is six months of age before having them altered, but it must be done before a female's first heat.
Like domestic dogs and cats, ferrets require special vaccines to assure they don't contract certain diseases. Ferrets require rabies and canine distemper vaccinations throughout their lives. Depending on your veterinarian, your ferret may receive up to six vaccinations during its first year of life, and a booster shot every year for distemper and rabies. Ferrets don't require any other vaccinations such as parvo. Vaccination for kennel cough is only needed if you will be putting your ferret in a kennel.
The most common ailment in domestic ferrets, adrenal disease produces cancerous growths and lesions on the ferret's adrenal glands. Symptoms of adrenal disease in ferrets include hair loss, open sores and lethargy. In unaltered males, it can cause aggressive, and sometimes fatal, breeding habits. It ordinarily affects older ferrets, but sometimes attacks younger ferrets as well. There is no known cause for ferret adrenal disease, but veterinarians recommend giving your ferret plenty of sunshine and a healthy balanced diet to help prevent the potentially fatal condition.