Reference Interval Determination for Digital Rectal Temperature in Healthy Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo)

While digital rectal thermometry is commonly used for assessing health and identifying illness in ferrets, there is little evidence to support frequently cited ranges of normal rectal temperature in this species. The objective of this study was to establish a reference interval for digital rectal temperature in healthy ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Rectal temperatures were measured using digital rectal thermometry in 56 healthy ferrets greater than four months of age. The reference interval was established using robust methods for reference interval determination, in adherence with the recommendations of the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology and the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. The reference interval for digital rectal temperature of healthy ferrets greater than four months of age was determined to range from 38.1 °C (confidence interval [CI] = 37.9 to 38.3 °C; 100.6 °F [CI = 100.3 to 100.9 °F]) at the lower limit to 39.9 °C (CI = 39.8 to 40.1 °C; 103.9 °F [CI = 103.6 to 104.2 °F]) at the upper limit. This reference interval for digital rectal temperature (38.1–39.9 °C [100.6–103.9 °F]) will be valuable to clinicians both performing routine health assessments and treating clinically ill ferrets.