Biomaterial Database

The senior ferret (Mustela putorius furo). 2010

Sharman M Hoppes

Department of Veterinary Small Animal Sciences, Texas A&M University, College of Veterinary Medicine, 4474 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4474, USA. shoppes@cvm.tamu.edu

Ferrets are an increasingly popular pet in the United States. They are active, gregarious pets that delight their owners with playful antics. One of the issues that ferret owners and veterinarians have had to deal with is their shortened life span. Although literature cites the life span of the ferret as 8 to 10 years, most veterinarians see ferrets as "old" at as early as 3 years of age. Most information on senior ferrets has focused on neoplastic diseases. This article discusses husbandry and nutritional issues of the aging ferret, more commonly seen geriatric diseases, and diagnostic and treatment options.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008017	Life Expectancy	Based on known statistical data, the number of years which any person of a given age may reasonably be expected to live.	Life Extension,Years of Potential Life Lost,Expectancies, Life,Expectancy, Life,Life Expectancies
D008297	Male		Males
D005260	Female		Females
D005289	Ferrets	Semidomesticated variety of European polecat much used for hunting RODENTS and/or RABBITS and as a laboratory animal. It is in the subfamily Mustelinae, family MUSTELIDAE.	Domestic Polecat,Domestic Polecats,European Polecat,European Polecats,Ferret,Mustela putorius,Mustela putorius furo,Polecat, Domestic,Polecat, European,Polecats, Domestic,Polecats, European
D000375	Aging	The gradual irreversible changes in structure and function of an organism that occur as a result of the passage of time.	Senescence,Aging, Biological,Biological Aging
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D000820	Animal Diseases	Diseases that occur in VERTEBRATE animals.	Diseases, Animal
D000822	Animal Husbandry	The science of breeding, feeding and care of domestic animals; includes housing and nutrition.	Animal Husbandries,Husbandries, Animal,Husbandry, Animal
D000829	Animals, Domestic	Animals which have become adapted through breeding in captivity to a life intimately associated with humans. They include animals domesticated by humans to live and breed in a tame condition on farms or ranches for economic reasons, including LIVESTOCK (specifically CATTLE; SHEEP; HORSES; etc.), POULTRY; and those raised or kept for pleasure and companionship, e.g., PETS; or specifically DOGS; CATS; etc.	Farm Animals,Domestic Animals,Domesticated Animals,Animal, Domestic,Animal, Domesticated,Animal, Farm,Animals, Domesticated,Animals, Farm,Domestic Animal,Domesticated Animal,Farm Animal