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By Simon Whitehead
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Q)I have put my hob ferret to a jill but, though she looks pregnant, the date for her to give birth has now passed and there is no sign of any kits arriving. I am very concerned but am not sure what I should do. J. HAMPTON By email
A)Phantom pregnancies are a common problem and one that is not often recognised, especially with young and untried stud ferrets. Many ferrets experience a phantom pregnancy, but this is usually when a jill has been mated by a vasectomised ferret. The act of mating takes her out of season but her body reacts in the belief that she is pregnant. A jill ferret will have a phantom or false pregnancy that will last for the same length of time as a normal pregnancy. She will display symptoms of being pregnant and will then probably come back into season. Jills that have a phantom pregnancy will put on weight, and the teats will enlarge and may even produce milk. Without kits to nurse, her behaviour changes and she may mother other ferrets, dragging them to her nest. This behaviour will pass in time but, as I have found in the past, it can be frustrating when it occurs.
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