VI.—DISEASES.
On the topic of ferret diseases, all the advice I can give is of a preventive, rather than of a curative, nature. My experience has been that, when a ferret is sick, it is the wisest policy to kill it immediately, as in all my practice I have never cured a sick ferret yet. Of course there are numerous remedies advocated by persons who claim to "know it all"; but experiment with these is simply a waste of time and material. The common diseases of ferrets are foot-rot, distemper, diphtheria, and influenza. Foot-rot is caused by dirt and neglect, and is the most common, dangerous, and devastating. It makes the feet swell out to twice their natural size, and become spongy; the nose and snout get dirty; the eyes commence to run, become perceptibly weaker, and then close. The tail also changes to a sandy and gravelly texture. Distemper is only a case of foot-rot aggravated. In influenza the nose runs violently, and there is the same affection of the eyes, accompanied by incessant sneezing. Diphtheria is a throat trouble, indicated by swelling of the neck, much heavy coughing, and nearly the same other accompaniments as the above diseases. To prevent disease, cleanliness and moderation are the simple antidotes: this is not such a hard thing to accomplish, as the ferret is a strong animal for its size, and very cleanly itself. Ferrets are sometimes run down by overwork in hunting, and get to be dull and sluggish; but they will soon regain their vigor, by letting them rest for awhile, and giving them plenty of food. Pure air, fresh, raw, bloody meat, and good milk, will soon bring the ferrets back to their natural state inside of a week.
Ferrets are sometimes troubled with fleas of a large size, that use the animals up greatly if they are not checked immediately. A little Sure Pop Insect Powder rubbed in dry with the hand will settle the insects effectively in a very short time.