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 Veterinary Referrals in Liverpool.

ABSTRACT Since the 1980s, ferrets have become increasingly popular pets, with an estimated 200,000 now kept in the UK. Ferret medicine is a relatively new field, and pain assessment and treatment in ferrets are not well researched, despite pain being a significant consideration in many of the medical conditions that affect them. Health indicators in ferrets, such as bright eyes, smooth coats and distinct energy–sleep cycles, contrast with signs of illness, which include excessive sleep, poor condition and subdued behaviour. Pain triggers the sympathetic nervous system, causing increases in heart rate, respiratory rate,
temperature and blood pressure, along with other physiological changes. Monitoring these signs in ferrets can be challenging, and emotional and behavioural signs must also be considered.

This is the first 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. The article discusses the methods of recognising acute and chronic pain in ferrets, the behavioural signs indicative of pain and the handling of ferrets. The review emphasises the necessity of developing a validated ferret pain scale incorporating behavioural, physiological and emotional signs. A holistic approach involving veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses and experienced ferret owners is essential for effective pain management. Future research should focus on developing detailed pain assessment scales and encouraging ferret owners to record typical behaviours to help facilitate the early detection of pain and improve individualised care.
Keywords ferret, pain behaviour, pain recognition, pain assessment, handling

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56496/JYRK2904

To cite this article: Malik, A. and Saraiva, S. (2024) Pain in ferrets: a review for veterinary nurses
Part 1 Assessment of pain in ferrets. VNJ 39(6) pp 16 – 31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56496/JYRK2904

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