Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a very common condition in ferrets.  It often starts out as a few days of soft stool or diarrhea about once a month.  Most people don't think that this is a cause for concern because the diarrhea clears up without treatment and the ferret continues to act healthy.  Over time, the episodes of diarrhea become longer in duration and more frequent.  At this point, the ferret starts to lose weight and may develop a rough dull hair coat.

Gastric ulcers (stomach ulcers) due to an infection by the bacteria Helicobacter mustelae are relatively common in ferrets.

Ferrets commonly come down with sneezing and coughing due to a variety of viral diseases such as influenza (also known as "the flu"). Flu viruses can be passed from ferrets to people and people to ferrets so it is important to practice good hygiene when working around a sick ferret (or around a sick human).

Does your ferret and scratch its ears as if it can't get the itching to stop?  Do you find dark reddish-brown chunky material coming out when it shakes its head?  If you answered yes, chances are your ferret has ear mites.

Ferrets develop diarrhea from a variety of causes.  Any time your ferret has diarrhea for more than a day, it may signal a serious underlying disorder and we strongly recommend a health consultation.  It is easier to treat diarrhea disorders when they first start than when they have lasted long enough that your ferret has lost weight and energy!

Adrenal disease is one of the most common diseases of ferrets and can occur as early as 18 months old. In adrenal disease, the adrenal glands start to produce excessive sex hormones (both male and female sex hormones). These elevated sex hormones begin to cause problems for ferrets such as hair loss, itchy skin, pot -bellied appearance, loss of muscle tone, and lethargy. Some ferrets are intensely itchy.  Females often develop a swollen vulva.  Males may develop a swollen prostate gland causing difficulty urinating or causing him to have accidents outside the litter box. Female ferrets may develop and enlarged vulva. Some ferrets may show sexual behavior (mounting) or become aggressive. Some ferrets with adrenal disease can develop life-threatening drops in their red blood cells due changes in their bone marrow, and can be incurable if not caught in time. As the disease progresses the abdomen often becomes larger and ferrets become weak in their hind legs s the disease progresses the abdomen often becomes larger and ferrets become weak in their hind legs. If left untreated, adrenal gland disease is a life-shortening and life-threatening disease for ferrets. 

Chinchillas have constantly growing teeth (incisors, premolars, and molars). Dental problems are very common in pet chinchillas if they do not get proper diets. A chinchilla should always have available a large amount of high quality timothy hay, such as Oxbow Timothy Hay, which helps wear the teeth and provides enough fiber to promote their gastrointestinal health. If a chinchilla does not get enough timothy grass hay, the teeth may grow in unusual shapes due to a lack of tough material to physically grind the biting surface of the teeth.

If you can't identify a plant, don't feed it to your pet! 

Nurseries, agricultural extension agents, botanical gardens and arboretums, and various books and websites are available to help you identify plants.  Plants often have different common names throughout the country so make sure you know the scientific name of the plant in question otherwise you might end up with the wrong information.

Pets may be sent home with liquid medications.  An oral liquid medication must be given by mouth to be effective.  An injectable liquid medication must be given by injection beneath the skin to be useful.  Some injectable medications require that the medication is inserted into the muscle to be most effective.  It is important that you understand how to read the syringes that are sent home so your pet gets the proper amount of medication at each dose.

 Although this article was written for reptile, the information is applicable to all exotic pets, including rodents, birds, and other animals.