VNJ Articlesanaesthesiaanalgesiaferretpain managementsedation
17 February 2025
Pain in ferrets: a review for veterinary nurses Part 2 Management of pain in hospitalised ferrets
Authors: Aneesa Malik, MSc, RVN, Cert VNES, Cert VNECC, APVN (Zoo) Aneesa has worked in a range of veterinary practices, including first opinion, charity, emergency, referral, exotics, and with some species of British wildlife. She is a Fear Free accredited practitioner and is particularly interested in veterinary ethics and welfare. Aneesa’s primary focus areas are animal pain and the care of emergency and critical patients, wildlife and exotic patients, and end-of-life patients.
Sofia Saraiva, DVM, MSc, MRCVS Sofia qualified from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, in 2014. Sofia worked as a small animal/exotic veterinary surgeon in Portugal, Dubai and the UK before completing a 1-year internship at Great Western Exotics. She is currently working towards her zoological medicine certificate with the University of Edinburgh while working as an exotic veterinary surgeon at Rutland House Referrals in Liverpool.
ABSTRACT This article is the second in a series of three articles that review the assessment and management of pain in ferrets, with examples of chronic pain conditions that affect the species. Little research is available on the consideration, recognition and management of pain in ferrets. Current recommendations are to use a balanced, multimodal analgesia and anaesthesia approach to target all aspects of the pain pathway. This article looks at the information available on managing pain in ferrets, with details of techniques, interventions and drug doses. It discusses the use of opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and adjunctive agents, along with sedation and anaesthesia.
Keywords ferret, pain management, analgesia, sedation, anaesthesia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56496/DJKZ5361
To cite this article: Malik, A. and Saraiva, S. (2025) Pain in ferrets: a review for veterinary nurses Part 2 Management of pain in hospitalised ferrets. VNJ 40(1) pp14-23.
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