Hobs and Jills
Neuter or not to neuter-that is the question!
The benefits of neutering;
Many potential ferret owners are concerned about the odour that ferrets may have. In fact, this odour is under the control of the androgynous (sexual) hormones and is evident in the ferret's skin. Intact male ferrets have the strongest odour; female ferrets in heat will also produce a smell but less so than the males. The actual scent or anal glands produce little odour. Therefore, spaying/neutering a pet ferret will reduce the majority of this ferret scent.
Castration of male ferrets (hobs) has several benefits including reducing their dominant character, reducing the frustration of continual urge to find a female.
Entire hobs need to be kept separately from other ferrets whilst in season due to aggressiveness combined with the need to mate, they become quite feisty, can be difficult to handle and can cause serious damage, if not death to their cage mates.Castration stops all this, they will live happily in their social groups all year round and stay the fun,cuddly bundles of mischief that we all love!
Jills will stay in season all spring/ summer long and if indoors, they can be in season all year round. Jills need to be brought out of season or they can become seriously if not fatally ill - just because the swelling goes down does not mean there isn't lots of nasty things happening inside!
More techically unless a female ferret is to be used for breeding it is essential that she is neutered or her oestrus (being in season) suppressed chemically. If this is not done a state of permanent oestrus develops with high circulating levels of oestrogen. This can also lead to alopecia (hair loss), as well as aplastic anemia, pyometra, bone marrow suppression and eventual death.
Neutering should be done before the first season, this will generally be in the spring of the jill’s first year.
The options are the jill jab - which is becoming increasingly expensive due to new EU regulations on how the drug (Delvosterone) is kept, and would need to be done between 2-4 times a year. Jill jabs are not good for the health - a massive dose of hormone that can bring its own problems such as phantom pregnancy.
The use of a vasectomised hob, a method I would never recommend, due to the passing on of sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted litters from a vasectomy gone wrong (which is quite common).
Surgically - spey or castrate, my personal choice with little risk and a one off operation, we have ours surgically neutered when they are sexually mature, at least 6 months old and preferably nearer 12 months.
Chemical neuter - a relatively new implant called Suprelorin (deslorelin acetate) can be used to chemically neuter ferrets. The 4.7 mg deslorelin implant will work for approximately 18 months - 2 years. There is also a 9.4 mg deslorelin implant which can be used too,and will work for even longer.I have had no experience of the implant as all our ferrets are surgically neutered, its up to the individual to decide which course of action is best for their particular ferret.