My sons polecat died.

[Gill]

My wee boys polecat died the other day,he went out to feed and water it and it never came out its bed ,so he looked in and he was curled up in his bed dead.I dont know how he died though,he was,nt quite a year old ,i can only think it has been too cold for him but the weather although frosty is milder than what we have had.Could anybody shed any light on this,my wee boy was very upset and never stopped crying for the rest of the night.i will need to source some more ,maybe two this time for company ,my son said maybe he was lonely ?

[Toddy]

Male or female and had it been dressed ?

I recall something about females dying from anaemia if they hadn't been dressed or mated. Basically they get stuck in a period that doesn't stop.

Lots of things kill polecats and ferrets though, distemper, flu, cancer and the little beasts have a propensity to eat chewy things, like rubber bands that block their short guts.

I'm sorry about your son's pet though, I kept rabbits as a child and I still mind how devastated I felt when they died of distemper.

Lots of folks on the forum keep (kept) polecats and ferrets, I suspect they'll be a lot more help than I've been.

atb,
Mary

[Gill]

It was a male Mary,and he was not neutered .

[Front Room Woodlander]

What did you clean the cage with? Some cleaners, like Jeyes fluid, contain poisonus chemicals.
Sorry for loss, they make great pets and are so full of character.

[Gill]

no none of the chemical cleaners were used at all,just hot soapy water then rinsed with clean.

[fast but dim]

a couple of years ago my 2 ferrets died 'overnight', from being 100% healthy, i put it down to a disease ( prob distemper)

[Shewie]

It's always sad to lose a pet, sorry for your loss Gill.

I had no idea folk kept pole cats as pets though, cute little blighters.

[firecrest]

Thats a shame for your son

Sometimes there is no reason, small furry animals can just die (Im sure there must be reasons but often its unpreventable) I used to breed hamsters as a kid, most would live but sometimes some just died and there was no real reason for the seemingly healthy ones just to go to sleep and not wake up.

[bushwacker bob]

Thats a shame for your son

Sometimes there is no reason, small furry animals can just die (Im sure there must be reasons but often its unpreventable) I used to breed hamsters as a kid, most would live but sometimes some just died and there was no real reason for the seemingly healthy ones just to go to sleep and not wake up.

they were hibernating

[Robbi]

yep, that happened to one of my hampsters many years ago... trouble was....i buried it !!

[firecrest]

they were hibernating

Nah we made sure by putting them in the microwave for a few minutes first.

*Joke.*

*seriously...

[Alamo]

As previously said, probably distemper or flu, but without a costly post mortem, it could have been several other things too. Had it shown any previous signs of illness at all, and what had your son been feeding it on?

Unfortunately I won't be breeding any kits myself this year as I only breed to replenish my own stock. However, I do know plenty of people who will have youngsters (mostly from my own strain), so if you don't get replacement(s) sorted, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Alan