Lead poisoning is not a rare occurrence for ferrets, or pets in general. It affects both humans and animals on a moderate level. This disease is also known by two other names – Plumbism and Saturnism.
Lead poisoning is caused by too much metal toxicity in one’s body. When lead poisoning attacks a body, the person or animal needs immediate medical help.
If the symptoms of lead poisoning are ignored in the early stages, it will develop more and more and eventually get so high that your pet might end up dead.
What Causes Lead Poisoning?
Your ferrets might suffer from lead poisoning when exposed to lead over time. This disease often comes from lead that is present in dirty water, air, dust particles, and food.
Let’s say you have lead water pipes installed in your home. Now the water that runs through them will contain micro-sized particles of lead in it and that will make your tap water contaminated with metal toxicity.
Tap water is used for cleaning or filling the bowl with water by many pet owners and without knowing their pet can end up with lead poisoning.
Another most common way of getting lead poisoning is through lead-based paint on walls inside homes. When the paint deteriorates, it often falls off the wall or sticks to someone who passed by it.
Ferrets, or animals in general, play a lot so they don’t realize when they come in contact with too much lead (wall) that is harmful to them. The lead in the dust comes in contact with their body so when they lick or touch themselves, it easily transfers inside their mouth.
Lead poisoning also comes from old dusty places, furniture, and toys. So, before you are making a purchase for your ferret, make sure that the toy or bowl absolutely does not contain any toxic material.
Symptoms of Lead Poisoning
Lead poisoning develops slowly in ferrets and other small pets in most cases. For this reason, it is better to know about its symptoms so you can identify them early.
- Fatigue – Your ferret will seem tired and less playful. It will be noticeable that something is wrong with your pet because ferrets are normally very active creatures.
- Blindness – Loss of vision is another cause of lead poisoning. It makes the eyesight weak in the early stages, which only gets worse with time if it is not taken care of.
- Poor appetite – Your pet will start eating less and less. This act is very dangerous because now your ferret isn’t getting enough vitamins and proteins and their body is getting weaker which only increases the speed of lead poisoning inside them.
- Tearing up – It seems like your ferret is crying; it happens before the blindness starts. Too much crying is most likely the cause of blurry vision in pets too.
- Unsteady walk – The ferret will have difficulty walking properly. It happens because lead poisoning affects the hind legs more. Hind leg weakness can be caused by other issues as well, but it is worth having your pet looked at regardless.
Be extra careful with younger ferrets.
This is even more unfortunate if your ferret is still a baby, as it can affect the growth of the pet.
Lead poisoning often takes months to properly appear in one’s body. It happens because of daily exposure to lead, and if there are too many lead particles around, it can speed up the process. High levels of exposure to lead give off worse symptoms like brain or kidney damage. And, in many severe cases, it leads to death. According to a study, about 20 million animals of different species die every year due to lead poisoning.
It mostly affects the domestic animals lead is mostly found near built-up areas.
How To Prevent Lead Poisoning In Ferrets
First, you need to get rid of any and every sort of toxic lead object inside your home.
This should actually be your first priority before you get a pet. Make your home a safe place for your pet as well by using toxic-free supplies, paints, utensils, cages, and furniture.
Here are a few steps you should make a part of your daily and weekly routine:
- Don’t let too much dust settle in places.
- Keep your and your pet’s utensils clean.
- Clean the ferret’s cage regularly.
- Wash their hammock and other places they rest.
- Wash their toys.
- Let your ferret roam outside in fresh air.
Diagnosis Of Lead Poisoning
Lead poisoning in your ferrets is very treatable if it is caught in the early stages. It is a very dangerous disease that absolutely can’t be treated at home. If your pet shows symptoms of lead poisoning, you must immediately take it to your vet.
First, the vet runs a blood test which lets them know if there is any lead present in their veins. Then they take an X-ray to see if there are any tiny particles of lead inside the animal’s body.
If the lead is only present in the stomach then it can be easily taken care of. However, if it spreads from there, your pet will need immediate surgery to remove the lead.
When the lead is present in the entire body, it is an indication that it has gotten worse. Special treatments like Chelation are used to treat the poisoning of this level.
Chelation treatment is a bit heavy for pets so doctors usually inject fluids to make it more tolerable and protect your pet from kidney damage.
In Chelation treatment, lead is pulled out of the body, stomach, and bones and is directed towards the kidney. The kidney serves as an important part of this treatment, which is why doctors use their medication to keep the kidney of ferret’s safe during this process.
Of course, the process doesn’t end in just a day. It takes a few days or weeks depending on how much lead your pet has consumed. The treatment will go on slowly, and the doctor will check the blood results every now and then to see if the lead is still present inside the body.
Once it is completely gone, your ferret can finally be at peace and become playful again.