Making A First Aid Kit For Your Ferret

Since you never know when an accident will happen, keeping a ferret emergency kit at your home is a good idea. You can put a first aid kit together yourself and buy the items separately, or buy one ready-made. If you make one yourself, use a small plastic tub with a tight fitting lid to store the following items:

Phone Numbers and Records
•	Veterinary clinic phone number and directions to the clinic
•	Emergency clinic phone number and directions
•	Poison control center phone numbers
•	Vaccination and health records and a list of medications your ferret is receiving - take these with you on every veterinary visit
Equipment and Supplies
•	Magnifying glass
•	Scissors
•	Tweezers
•	Nail clippers and metal nail file
•	Styptic powder or sticks, Kwik Stop, or cornstarch
•	Penlight
•	Eye dropper or oral syringe
•	Feeding tubes of various sizes if you are trained in how to use them
•	Cotton swabs
•	Cotton balls
•	Clean towels - cloth and paper
•	Ear thermometer
•	Lubricant such as mineral oil or KY Jelly (without spermicide)
•	Disposable gloves
•	Syringes of various sizes
•	Needle-nose pliers or hemostats
•	Grease-cutting dish soap
•	Fooey or other product to discourage licking
•	Ferret carrier
•	Towel or blanket to keep your ferret warm during transport (some pharmacies and camping outlets carry a thermal blanket or bed)
•	Cold packs and heat packs (wrap in towel before using)
•	Stethoscope

Bandaging Materials
•	Square gauze of various sizes - some sterile
•	Non-stick pads
•	First aid tape - both paper (easily comes off of skin) and adhesive types
•	Bandage rolls - gauze and Vetwrap
•	Band-Aids (for humans)
Nutritional Support
•	Highly palatable food such as Hill's a/d, Oxbow Carnivore Care, Chicken & Chicken Gravy Baby Food or Eukanuba MaxCal (Feline)
•	Rehydrating solution such as Gatorade or Pedialyte
•	Nutritional supplement such as Nutri-Cal, FerretVite or Nutristat
•	High sugar source: Karo syrup
•	Probiotics as advised by your veterinarian; often prescribed for ferrets receiving antibiotics
Medicines*
•	Wound disinfectant such as Betadine or Nolvasan
•	Triple antibiotic ointment for skin
•	Antibiotic ophthalmic ointment for eyes, e.g., Terramycin
•	Eye wash solution
•	Sterile saline
•	Antidiarrheal medicine such as Pet Pectate
•	Ferret or cat laxative in paste form (e.g.: Marshall Ferret Lax Hairball Remedy or Tomlyn Ferret Laxatone)
•	Pediatric diphenhydramine (Benadryl) for allergic reactions
•	Cortisone spray or cream, such as Itch Stop
•	Ear cleaning solution
•	Hydrogen peroxide (used to make a pet vomit)
•	Activated charcoal to absorb ingested poisons (consult your veterinarian before using)