Ferret Vaccines

Vaccines are extremely important for your ferret and should be administered on the following schedule: Canine Distemper booster at 8 weeks, repeated at 11-12 weeks and then at 14-16 weeks; thereafter they should receive any annual shot. The rabies shot should be administered at 12-13 weeks of age (two weeks before/after the distemper, but never at the same time) and then given annually as well. There are two canine distemper vaccines that can be used, Purevax-D (only USDA approved shots) or Galaxy-D. For additional information on distemper, shots and reactions, please see the distemper page

Distemper is an airborne virus that your ferrets can get even though they never go outside. If you have a pet that goes, they can bring it in, you can bring it in on your clothes, shoes, skin, etc. The only way you an protect and safeguard against this is to vaccinate. There is no cure, and is 100% fatal.

There is only one approved rabies vaccine which is IMRAB-3, and though it might not be legally required by law, this is one shot that could save your ferrets life in case of a ferret bite or scratch that gets reported. Unfortunately, there are still a large number of states that will decapitate the ferrets head for testing first, then ask questions later, despite the "2008 Compendium of Animal Rabies Control" (PDF Version) by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, Inc. (NASPHV), stating the animal should be quarantined for 10 days. It should also be noted that the number of cases of a ferret contracting, passing, or carrying rabies is just about non-existent.