Ferrets As Pets-Their Habits and Behavior - Coursework Example

s Keeping new-age ferrets as pets In the recent years keeping unconventional has emerged as a trend. Ferrets a small predators belonging to Mustelid family and their charming looks has made them a favourable option amongst those wanting to keep exotic animals at home. Some ferrets like to black footed ferret has been designated as being endangered by the IUCN. A study of the evolutionary history tells us that ferrets are very much different from conventional cats and dogs and even though it may look like ferrets have adapted to being domesticated, it is indeed not so. It needs to be understood that in spite of the cute looks this furry creature is not safe to be kept at home basically since it has carnivorous instincts. Moreover, even though ferrets are often used as laboratory animals for testing vaccines and drugs they really do not help in development of new age technology. Thus it can be said that keeping ferrets as pets is not very safe option and no matter how exotic it sounds people need to consider a lot of things before bringing home one. Food of Ferrets Keeping a pet animal at home necessarily means meetings every single need of the animal and this includes providing them with a diet that suits their physiology. However in most cases domesticated animals are given specially formulated food over their natural diet. Ferrets, even the domesticated ones are strictly carnivorous in habit. Their teeth structure, gastrointestinal structure and body enzymes are all meant for a purely carnivorous diet. The European polecat , scientifically called Mustela putorius, is considered to be the ancestor of ferrets. The European polecat was also a strict carnivore and its natural diet consisted of small birds and other small vertebrates (Johnson-Delaney. 2014). However, after domestication ferrets are barely given carnivorous diet and are either fed cat or dog food or specially formulated ones which meet the ferret’s nutrient needs. It is not necessary that the ferrets like what they eat since in spite of evolution they are basically carnivorous yet domestication and restriction have forced the domesticated ferrets to adapt themselves to the diets provided to cats and dogs. In many cases pet owners are often careless about the expiry date of such products risking the ferret’s life. Recently, FDA detected Salmonella, in pet food products produced by Natura and this simply proves that by keeping ferrets at home and restricting them to a diet that humans have designed, these creatures are at the risk of being exposed to multiple problems and diseases (Fuller-Wright, 2013). Habitat Like all other animals, even ferrets have a habitat range which is the minimum area required by a ferret to rest, play, hunt and mate. The range is a basic need for any animals since it defines the activity and the social structure of the animal. Radio collaring studies conducted to estimate the seasonal specific and gender specific range of ferrets have revealed that movement and range of ferrets did not differ much either from season to season nor between males and females. The same study established that the home range of ferrets overlapped in most cases and the average home range for a ferret was estimated to be between 128.3- 131.9 ha (Zhang et al, 2010). However, restraining pets at home obviously restricts their natural instinct of demarking a hoem range since most households cannot provide the ferrets with an area as large as its required range. Therefore, restriction of area also drives a change in natural habits. In their natural habitat, ferrets are nocturnal and conduct most of their activities during the night. Ferrets spend the maximum amount of time underground and under humid conditions. The nocturnal activity and the burrowing habitat has been attributed to the ferrets avoiding disturbances from other organisms especially humans (Zhang et al, 2010). However, domesticated ferrets do not have the liberty of avoiding humans by burrowing and have also been forced to adapt to diurnal activity regime as well. They are also removed from their natural habitat of living under slightly humid conditions. In the wild, ferrets after maturation demarcate their own territories and tend to live and hunt alone except during the mating season however when kept within a household, domesticated ferrets do not have the liberty of staying alone and often need to share space with either other ferrets or other pets in the household. Studies have shown that unlike their ancestor or wild ferrets the domesticated ones as a result of domestication have highly improved socio-cognitive skills and actively engage in social interaction with humans which is absolutely different from their solitary habits (Harnadi et al, 2012). Biology of Ferrets In terms of behaviour, domestication plays a pivotal role in altering the natural behaviour of any organisms including that of ferrets. Even though certain instinct behaviours of the domesticated ones may be related to its wild counter-parts yet confinement and de-sexing is known to be major driving factors in alteration of behaviour. Sarah et al conducted a survey and interviewed owners of pet ferrets on the organisms’ behaviour within captivity (2014).the results of the survey established that behaviour of male ferrets and female ferrets were different and that male ferrets displayed more play-behaviour in form of weasel war dance than the females. The display of play behaviour of the ferrets was directly proportional to enrichment within captivity. The behaviour of ferrets especially aggressive behaviour of biting and hurting was also seen to be dependent on two important factors- hours spent in confinement and number of enrichment items. Biting and hurting behaviour among the ferrets was directly linked to number of hours in confinement and inversely linked to enrichment items in captivity. It is also seen that de-sexing also exerts some influence on ferret behaviour as well. Another study related de-sexing and familiarity of ferrets to their aggressive behaviour. If two same genders, neutered ferrets are kept as pets then the aggression is very low. Low aggression is also seen when spayed female and sexually intact male is kept together (Staton and Crowell-Davis, 2003) Medical Issues Like all other organisms, ferrets too are either carriers or victims of epizootic diseases. A. Viruses and outcome Viruses are considered one of the most important pathogens and ferrets are often affected by several infectious viral diseases for example catarrhal enteritis is one of the most widespread viral infections that is not only contagious but also fatal in most cases. Another important fatal viral infection among ferrets is the Canine Distemper Virus infection. From a medical perspective, the CDV in ferrets has been used not only to derive vaccines but also is used as test model fr Morbillivirus vaccine. In fact ferrets are today used as models to test CDV vaccines against infcetiosn that do not produce symptoms in the earlier stages (Stephenson et al, 1997). B. H5N1and H7N9 Infections Influenza A virus of birds is a highly pathogen infection. In hughly affected organisms the H5N1 viruses have been detected in the blood. Studies have been conducted to understand the susceptibility of other mammals to the virus and it was seen that ferrets are highly susceptible to the avian infection and the H5N1 virus is transmitted to ferrets through blood transfusion. In the early stages this infection is almost asymptotic (Wang et al, 2014). Another equally fatal virus to ferrets is the H7N1 virus which is primarily harboured by waterfowl. Humans are secondary hosts and may transmit the virus to the highly susceptible ferrets. Transmission from humans to ferrets may be air borne or droplet borne (Mathild et al, 2013). C. Plague Plagues are important diseases that have the ability to wipe out large numbers of the species it affects. In fact, reintroductions of ferrets in some areas have been often hindered by plagues. Plague mostly affects the wild ferrets for example in Montana, Black footed ferrets were almost wiped out owing to epizootic plague which not only affected the ferrets but also killed its most important prey-the prairie dogs thereby creating a imbalance in the predator-prey cycle (Matchett et al, 2010). However, domesticated ones when vaccinated appropriately are less likely to get infected. Difference from other pets Keeping a pet ferret has its own consequences since they are very much different from other conventional pets. For example, ferrets are natural predators of prairie dogs and hunt them in the night. So, it is a natural instinct of dogs to show aggressive behaviour towards ferret aboveground during day light. There have been instances where prairie dogs have attacked pet ferrets (Livieri et al, 2013). New Movie There have been several movies which have starred ferrets in them. One of the most important movies is the 2011, Jake and Jasper where Jasper is a friendly ferret in whom Jake finds solace after the demise of his mother. The movie portrays the creature as an extremely sociable and understanding in nature. Conclusion Ferrets are considered to be an exotic option for many and many today select ferrets over cats , dogs or caged birds. However it needs to be understood that keeping a pet ferret is not very safe. Firstly, the ferret has a natural hunting instinct and may pose a threat to other pets in the house or small babies. Even thought the domesticated ones have adapted themselves to packaged pet food , its carnivorous habit cannot be overlooked. Next, the ferret is very much susceptible to a wide number of diseases and may even act as reservoirs to certain viral infections as well. Thirdly, since restriction within a certain area has an impact on the pets’ habit, domesticated pets may display aggressive behaviour which is often difficult to understand. It is also true that several movies and dramas have include ferrets and have even trained ferrets but these exotic animals will do better if they are left in the wild and not domesticated for mere pleasure of humans. References Fuller-Wright, Liz. "Pet food recall: Sweeping recall affects food for cats, dogs, and ferrets." Christian Science Monitor 18 June 2013: N.PAG. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Feb. 2015. Hernadi,A. et al “Man’s Underground Best Friend: Domestic Ferrets, Unlike the Wild Forms, Show Evidence of Dog-Like Social-Cognitive Skills.”PLoS One, 2012, 7 (8), p.1. Johnso-Delaney.A.” Ferret nutrition.”The veterinary clinics of North America.2014, 17 (3), p.449-470. LIVIERI, TRAVIS M., et al. "Prairie Dog Aboveground Aggressive Behavior Towards Black-Footed Ferrets." American Midland Naturalist 169.2 (2013): 422-425. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Feb. 2015. Matchett,M.R. et al “Enzootic plague reduces black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) survival in Montana.”Vector Borne Zoonotic Diseases, 2010, 10 (1), p.27-35. Mathilde,R. et al “Limited airborne transmission of H7N9 influenza A virus between ferrets.”Nature, 501, p.560-563. Sarah,T et al. “Effect of captivity and management on behaviour of the domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo).” Applied Animal behavior Science,2014, 151, p.94-101. Staton, V,W. and Crowell-Davis,S.L.” Factors associated with aggression between pairs of domestic ferrets.”Journal of American veterinary Association, 2003, 222 (12), p.1709-1712. Stephenson, C.B. et al “Canine distemper virus (CDV) infection of ferrets as a model for testing Morbillivirus vaccine strategies: NYVAC- and ALVAC-based CDV recombinants protect against symptomatic infection.”Journal of virology, 71 (2), p.1506-1513.W Wang,X. et al.” Highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus (H5N1) can be transmitted in ferrets by transfusion.”BMC Infectious Diseases, 2014, 1 (14), p.1-20. Zhang,L. et al “Ranging and activity patterns of the group-living ferret badger Melogale moschata in central China.”Journal of Mammology, 2010, 91 (1), p.101-108. Read More