Supplies

All these supplies must be purchased through your vet. You may also mail order these items directly from an outside medical or veterinary supply company by having your vet fax them a prescription for the necessary items. BRICO Medical Supplies had the best prices I'd found. (Note: If you order from Brico Medical Supplies, the syringes are listed on a different page. In the comments section of their order form make sure you ask for the syringes with the "slip on" tips instead of the "screw on" tips.)

Here's what you'll need.

1) Lactated Ringer's (Not pictured above. -It looks like an IV bag.)

This is a balanced electrolyte solution. Some vets also use NaCl (sodium chloride) for renal (kidney) disease. Check the label on the bag to make sure you've been given the correct one.

2) A sterile syringe with no needle attached.

Some syringes are sold with a needle already attached. Don't get that kind. Purchase the kind with no needle. A 25cc syringe is probably large enough. I've never had to give more than 20ccs in one sitting (for a total of 40ccs a day). If your vet wants you to give more than that, you'll either need to split it into two smaller doses and give one in the morning and one in the evening (which is more beneficial to your ferret anyway) or you'll need to get a larger syringe.

3) A few sterile stiff needles

(Apparently it's just called "a needle") for drawing fluids out of the bag and into the syringe. The ones I've used had either a pinkish-purplish colored cap or a green colored cap. This needle is only used for drawing fluids out of the bag and is not the needle you'll be using to inject your ferret.

4) Some sterile butterfly needles with tubing attached (also known as "scalp vein sets" or "winged infusion sets.")

These are the needles that will be used for administering the fluids to your ferret. What this looks is a thin needle with a green "butterfly shaped" plastic grip at the back of the needle. On the other side of the plastic grip is a length of thin tubing. The butterfly needles/scalp vein sets are individually wrapped for sterility and the packaging on mine say 21 x 3/4. The tubing on mine is about one foot long.

And last but not least:

5) The treat
you're going to use. Uncapped, open, and ready to go!

6) A quiet place
where you won't be disturbed by other people or animals for the next few minutes.