The usual cause of vomiting in ferrets is a foreign body in the
stomach or upper intestine. The most common foreign bodies are
pieces of rubber that they have deliberately eaten, or hairballs
from accidentally swallowing masses of hair during their molting
(shedding) period. Ferrets kept under natural light cycles shed
their coats in late fall and spring. Particularly in spring,
ferrets shed hair very dramatically. If they live in a home kept
lighted until 9 o'clock or later every night throughout the
seasons, their shedding periods will not be as predictable. They
do groom themselves, more or less, depending on the individual,
but they also pick up a considerable amount of loose hair from
their bedding. Shedding ferrets can be brushed daily to collect
as much loose hair as possible, and they can be shampooed once
or twice weekly for the same purpose. Their bedding should be
changed more frequently than usual while they are shedding, and
the cage and play area can be vacuumed. These steps will reduce
the chan