Female Ferrets Must Mate or Die

Ferrets are very gregarious creatures and enjoy living in couples or groups. If a man and a woman have compatible personalities and preferences, they should get along just fine. The one exception to this is that the male should also be spayed, unless you intend to breed him, as he may be more prone to aggressive behaviors, especially if he claims a certain area of the cage as his own, which unfixed males are prone to do. This is to prevent bone marrow suppression and anemia from prolonged heat.

Ferrets, like shrews, are subject to a potentially lethal biological imperative. Like many other mammal species, female ferrets experience estrus, or heat. However, ferrets are different since they cannot reproduce without mating, thus they must.

Ferrets used as pets must be spayed or neutered. It primarily lessens their mildly disagreeable odor. However, it also spares the lives of the females because aplastic anemia will kill them if they don't mate. This results from hormonal imbalances brought on by the ferret going into heat but failing to mate. Blood production is impacted by hormones, and deadly anemia rapidly follows.