{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T12:54:52Z","timestamp":1791204892936,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]],"date-time":"2026-08-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786579200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]],"date-time":"2026-08-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786579200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Medicine &amp;amp; Sci"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The domestic ferret (\n                      <jats:italic>Mustela putorius furo<\/jats:italic>\n                      ) is an increasingly popular non\u2010traditional companion animal; however, limited information is available on how caregivers manage feeding and husbandry practices.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aimed to investigate feeding and management practices in pet ferrets and to evaluate differences among countries.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross\u2010sectional, multilingual (Italian, English, French) online survey data collected from 495 ferret caregivers, mainly from France, Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom and Belgium.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results and Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Most ferrets were young adults, neutered (70.7%) and housed indoors (87.3%). Neutering practices differed significantly among countries, with surgical sterilisation more common in the United States and the United Kingdom (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt; 0.001). Husbandry practices generally included daily free\u2010roaming and environmental enrichment; however, undesirable behaviours were frequently reported, particularly inappropriate elimination (79.0%) and food hiding (75.4%). Preventive veterinary care was common, although vaccination and parasite prevention rates were lower in the United Kingdom and the United States compared to continental Europe (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt; 0.001). Feeding practices were highly variable. Dry commercial diets were the most commonly used (72.1%) and were typically offered ad libitum, while homemade diets were provided by 44.2% of caregivers and whole prey by 25.9%. Inconsistencies included use of products formulated for other species. Overall, husbandry and feeding practices varied considerably across countries. The wide variability in feeding approaches, inconsistent preventive care and lack of evidence\u2010based nutritional guidelines may increase the risk of nutritional imbalances and health issues, highlighting the need for clearer recommendations and improved caregiver education.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/vms3.71170","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]],"date-time":"2026-08-13T15:29:16Z","timestamp":1786634956000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Feeding and Husbandry Practices in Pet Ferrets (\n                    <i>Mustela putorius furo<\/i>\n                    ): A Cross\u2010Sectional International Study"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7922-7384","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Erdem","family":"Danyer","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Medicine Production and Health University of Padua, Padua  Legnaro Italy"},{"name":"Department of Biostatistics Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Dokuz Eyl\u00fcl University  \u0130zmir T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5424-4164","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giada","family":"Morelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Medicine Production and Health University of Padua, Padua  Legnaro Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0660-9637","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lorenzo","family":"Serva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Medicine Production and Health University of Padua, Padua  Legnaro Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5738-7558","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena Dal","family":"Corso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Medicine Production and Health University of Padua, Padua  Legnaro Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-5017-4381","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Diego","family":"Cattarossi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinica Veterinaria Casale sul Sile  Casale sul Sile Treviso Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6999-9380","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marianne","family":"Diez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Management of Animal Resources University of Li\u00e8ge  Li\u00e8ge Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5678-9555","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rebecca","family":"Ricci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Medicine Production and Health University of Padua, Padua  Legnaro Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_12_2_1","unstructured":"APHA.2026. \u201cNotifiable Disease Occurrence List for Great Britain and Northern Ireland.\u201dhttps:\/\/improve\u2010ov.com\/instructions\/instructions\u2010file.php?unique_id=6724f0d9f0067&file_type=Form&action=view."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_3_1","volume-title":"AVMA Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook","author":"AVMA","year":"2018"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_4_1","volume-title":"2022 AVMA Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook","author":"AVMA","year":"2022"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/ilar.47.4.348"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_6_1","volume-title":"Exotic Pet Behavior\u2014Birds, Reptiles, and Small Mammals","author":"Bays T. B.","year":"2006"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_7_1","unstructured":"BBC.2020. \u201cDenmark to Cull up to 17 Million Mink amid Coronavirus Fears.\u201dhttps:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world\u2010europe\u201054818615."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S1094\u20109194(17)30146\u20109"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/jns.2017.51"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_10_1","volume-title":"Behaviour of Exotic Pets","author":"Bulloch M. J.","year":"2010"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.anbehav.2017.06.006"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-1-4160-6621-7.00014-2"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_13_1","first-page":"1215","volume-title":"Small Animal Clinical Nutrition","author":"Carpenter J. W.","year":"2010"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/inpr.291"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_15_1","unstructured":"Church B.2007a. \u201cEnrichment for Small Mammals and Exotic Pets.\u201d InProceedings of the North American Veterinary Conference 1640\u20131642.NAVC."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_16_1","unstructured":"Church B.2007b. \u201cFerret Nutrition and Dental Disease.\u201d InProceedings of the North American Veterinary Conference 1633\u20131635.NAVC."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ani12050577"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jpn.12176"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ani12091065"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ani12233262"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_21_1","unstructured":"Dean A. G. K. M.Sullivan andM. M.Soe.2024. \u201cOpenEpi: Open Source Epidemiologic Statistics for Public Health.\u201dwww.OpenEpi.com."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_22_1","unstructured":"DEFRA.2022. \u201cGuidance: Imported Disease Summaries for Dogs and Cats.\u201dhttps:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/imported\u2010disease\u2010summaries\u2010for\u2010dogs\u2010and\u2010cats\/imported\u2010disease\u2010summaries\u2010for\u2010dogs\u2010and\u2010cats#:~:text=Heartworm\u2010is\u2010not\u2010endemic\u2010in."},{"issue":"178","key":"e_1_2_12_23_1","first-page":"1","article-title":"Regulation (EU) No 576\/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on the Non\u2010commercial Movement of Pet Animals and Repealing Regulation (EC) No 998\/2003","volume":"1","author":"European Union","year":"2013","journal-title":"Official Journal of the European Union"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/9781118782699.ch5"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/inp.b5665"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/9781119294382.ch24"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cvex.2015.01.007"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cvex.2014.05.008"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_29_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/jn\/128.12.2779s"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chom.2020.03.023"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jveb.2020.03.003"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_32_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13028\u2010014\u20100063\u20101"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_33_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ani11020273"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598\u2010018\u201031532\u20100"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_35_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jveb.2011.01.005"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_36_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cvex.2011.05.004"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_37_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-323-48435-0.00001-0"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_38_1","unstructured":"Public Health England.2019. \u201cGuidance: Rabies: Epidemiology Transmission and Prevention.\u201dhttps:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/rabies\u2010epidemiology\u2010transmission\u2010and\u2010prevention."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_39_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.applanim.2016.04.022"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_40_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jsap.13724"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_41_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/jns.2014.30"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_42_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2460\/javma.232.5.695"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_43_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.abb7015"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_44_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.22233\/9781905319565.30"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_45_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2460\/javma.2000.216.195"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_46_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1053\/j.gastro.2003.10.016"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_47_1","first-page":"590","volume-title":"Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition","author":"Stockman J.","year":"2024"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_48_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1471\u20102458\u201012\u2010553"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_49_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.applanim.2013.11.017"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_50_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1053\/j.jepm.2022.03.006"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_51_1","unstructured":"UK Pet Food.2026. \u201cHistorical Pet Population Data.\u201dhttps:\/\/www.ukpetfood.org\/industry\u2010hub\/data\u2010statistics\u2010\/historical\u2010pet\u2010data\u2010.html."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_52_1","unstructured":"USDA.2025. \u201cPet Travel Process Overview.\u201dhttps:\/\/www.aphis.usda.gov\/pet\u2010travel\/us\u2010to\u2010another\u2010country\u2010export\/pet\u2010travel\u2010process\u2010overview."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_53_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.applanim.2012.03.016"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_54_1","volume-title":"Companion Animal Care and Welfare","author":"Vinke C. M.","year":"2018"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_55_1","volume-title":"New Ferret Owners's Register to Help Prevent COVID\u201019","author":"Wales","year":"2021"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_56_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chbr.2022.100206"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_57_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1053\/j.jepm.2010.01.005"}],"container-title":["Veterinary Medicine and Science"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/vms3.71170","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1002\/vms3.71170","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/vms3.71170","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T12:27:14Z","timestamp":1791203234000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/vms3.71170"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]]},"references-count":56,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1002\/vms3.71170"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/vms3.71170","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["2053-1095","2053-1095"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2053-1095","type":"print"},{"value":"2053-1095","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-11-17","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-07-30","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-08-13","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e71170"}}