# Sexual maturity in ferrets? Ferrets first season! Unexpected!



## Rhianna.J (Nov 5, 2011)

Ok, i wasnt expecting this until Spring, but Bailey (my female angora) appears to be going into heat. Her nun is a little swollen and she is smelling a little stronger then usual (to be fair, Bailey or Buffy dont really smell ferrety, but Bailey does tonight! 

I have an intact male with her, Spook, who is 4-5 months old now, and also my other angora girl, Buffy. 

Is Spook old enough now to bring her out of heat naturally, and if yes, is he too young to actually "do the task?" 

Also, how long after mating will they stay in heat? If say, he mates with her, will it go down straight away? How long do i have before i need to take her for the jill jab?

As mentioned above, i wasnt expecting this until Spring, when Spook would be old enough to get vasectomized! 

Ive took a picture (as disturbed as i was to do so) just to be sure....


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## miss_ferret (Feb 4, 2010)

are they indoor ferrets?

have spooks testicles descended? if they have then yes, he should be able to do the task, but as hes intact, he's very likely to get her pregnant. if he is capable, do not let him near her until shes in full season to be safe as some inexperienced hobs can attempt to mate too early and as a female needs to be in full season to mate, this can cause injury, to both jill and hob (if the jill objects).

after mating the swelling should show a noticeable decrease is size after 3 days.

you can get the jill jab done at any stage of a jills season.


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## Rhianna.J (Nov 5, 2011)

miss_ferret said:


> are they indoor ferrets?
> 
> have spooks testicles descended? if they have then yes, he should be able to do the task, but as hes intact, he's very likely to get her pregnant. if he is capable, do not let him near her until shes in full season to be safe as some inexperienced hobs can attempt to mate too early and as a female needs to be in full season to mate, this can cause injury, to both jill and hob (if the jill objects).
> 
> ...


Yeah they are. She is only about 6-8 months old. 

Erm, well, he has these tiny little plums, but they are teeny tiny, not like the huge watermelons i have seen on adult hobs. Spook is approaching 5 months now. 

Right, il get her in for the jab then. I wasnt sure if maybe he was to young to produce any offspring, but i dont want to breed from her this young!!! I was planning on getting Spook vasectomized in the Spring when he was old enough!


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## Rhianna.J (Nov 5, 2011)

Bailey is booked in for Monday at the vets. Poor little girl, i really wasnt expecting this! I had her first season all planned out. It wasnt going to be until Spring, i was going to let her mate with Spook, then Spook was getting snipped! Oh well, back on track now....i think....


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## fiddle (Jul 30, 2012)

It is very unlikely you would have been able to use your hob anyway as they still have shots in the chamber for up to 6 weeks after the op. Plus so many many litters in rescues due to failed vasectomys so be aware you run the risk. 
Neutering is usually best as a full hob would usually need to be kept seperate during rut, which is a long part of the year. 
You could always try the implant?, its basically chemical neutering and will protect them for about 1-2 years. Just keep an eye for early signs its wearing off


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## Rhianna.J (Nov 5, 2011)

fiddle said:


> It is very unlikely you would have been able to use your hob anyway as they still have shots in the chamber for up to 6 weeks after the op. Plus so many many litters in rescues due to failed vasectomys so be aware you run the risk.
> Neutering is usually best as a full hob would usually need to be kept seperate during rut, which is a long part of the year.
> You could always try the implant?, its basically chemical neutering and will protect them for about 1-2 years. Just keep an eye for early signs its wearing off


I am well aware of this yes. I am planning on breeding my girls (or giving them the chance to breed) so im not bothered if they have youngings or not, i just dont want her to have them at 8 months old. I trust my vet to do the job properly, as he has vasectomized lots of ferrets successfully. So once he gets the op, if he is still firing shots for 6 weeks after, thats fine. Id like my girls to have a litter before he gets done anyways, just when they are old enough.

None of my kits would end up in a rescue!!! Im not someone who breeds an animal then chucks the kits out to be in a rescue! 

Ive been told neutering a male wont bring a female out of season, so getting them vasectomized is the best way?

I dont want to try the implant. Ive talked through my vet about future birth control and we have decided that a vasectomy is the best option for me. I dont want to give the girls the jill jab due to the risks involved during its long term use, i dont want to get them spayed, and i dont want no chemical neutering incase permanent damage is done, plus, its fairly new so long term risks are not yet known.


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## fiddle (Jul 30, 2012)

apologies, did not mean to imply your babies would be given to rescue, just that once homed you would have no control over what the new owners do with them.

The jill jab I to dont like long term but for a first year use I have never heard of any problems in either future breeding or health 
Vasectomys even from very experienced vets can go wrong thats just fact, it was just a heads up and was not implied as a dont do it so to speak, its just sometimes forwarned is forarmed lol 
Know of a rescue that uses that method but got unlucky...twice lol same sodding hob to and he has had a vasectomy twice! lol Now thats very determined sperm! lol 
If you want to be sure, some rescues have proven vasecomised hobs available for a very small fee  

Its been a really odd year for the seasons of ferrets here to, we have had 12 week old kits have their malteasers drop along with the hormonal behaviour ...most odd!


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## Rhianna.J (Nov 5, 2011)

fiddle said:


> apologies, did not mean to imply your babies would be given to rescue, just that once homed you would have no control over what the new owners do with them.
> 
> The jill jab I to dont like long term but for a first year use I have never heard of any problems in either future breeding or health
> Vasectomys even from very experienced vets can go wrong thats just fact, it was just a heads up and was not implied as a dont do it so to speak, its just sometimes forwarned is forarmed lol
> ...


Lol no worries. I think my post came across more aggressive then it was meant to. : victory:

My two girls are full angora ferrets you see, not your "run of the mill ferret" so any babies will be half-angora and will have homes lined up for them already, for an £100 price (average price for a half angora). This will hopefully deter most people from whim buying a ferret, and im planning on keeping at least one of them.  This is another reason why im very nervous about contraception methods on the girls part, as with the girls being so expensive, i dont want anything to happen to them, nor do i want to stop their bloodline..... 

Well, he sounds like a very determined hob! lol Typical ferret! lol No in all fairness, if he does slip up after his op, thats fine by me. If it happens when its meant to have worked, then i will book him in again. 

I think maybe because they are indoor ferrets, she came into heat early, and possibly due to the odd weather patterns we have been having? Her nun is nearly back to normal now. Just my luck though, i bet her sister will come into early heat now though! lol


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## fiddle (Jul 30, 2012)

arr do you keep them in normal daylight hours? If you observe a more natural light routine there will be less chance of them coming back into season before next spring. There is also question that unnatural light cycles contribute towards adreanal disease in ferrets so its one of those "wish there was more research" questions lol 
I have seen plenty of mums under 1 year and ok some do ok but most do not seem to so avoiding first year would really be best for your girls. Have also found the kits to take longer to mature when compared to an older mums litter, does that make sense lol

Sadly you would not believe how many Angoras end up in rescue, its quite shocking considering the price tag usually associated with them, you think people would want to hold on to their money!


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## Rhianna.J (Nov 5, 2011)

Kindof. They are kept in my garage that has a huge window at the back, so they get a natural light coming through. In the winter, i still havnt made my mind up whether they will be coming into the actual house or not, but if they do, they would get "lights out" at around 6pm.....

That does surprise me! I would never get rid of my 2 angoras (or my normal male for that matter), the angoras have such gorgeous faces! lol


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