Civets have grown as an increasingly popular choice for pets. This omnivorous nocturnal has an endearing personality that is difficult not to love. More so, they are relatively easy to raise with minimum investments needed to be made. However, this is not always necessarily the case – especially when they fall ill. Just like any other species, Civets’ immune system would weaken when they do not receive adequate nutrition or when the rainy season comes. To escape the inevitable, read on to find out how to care for your civets during the rainy season.

1. Clean Their Cages

Routinely deep clean your civet’s cages once a day during the rainy season. Make sure that their cages are not humid and is free from any unpleasant odours. If possible, carefully spray disinfectants or baby perfume so that your civet has a comfortable living space. Make sure to clean their dining spaces atleast once a day. An unkept dining space is prone to bacterial infections and diseases. Be sure to change their waters daily to prevent them from drinking contaminated water.

2. Maintain Their Cages’ Warmth

The shock that is triggered from the sudden decline in the environment’s temperature could mess with the civet’s immune system. Aside from maintaining the living space with a healthy warm temperature, allow them a habitat that has good air circulation and enough sunlight to prevent harmful bacterias to grow in.

3. A Good Diet

With the seasonal decline of their immune system, civets need to be fed a nutritional diet to regain their energies. A boost of protein in their diet is beneficial to maintain their health and resilience to health drawbacks such as diarrheas or common colds. Some of these nutritional boosts are commonly found in the form of:

Live chickens, worms, rats, lizards, and other small animals
Particularly Crickets and Dragonflies twice a week for an overall nutritional and energy boost
Fruits (e.g. bananas and papayas)
Boiled eggs for a boost of calcium

However, these food should be given at a moderation to prevent any side effects: such as diarrheas. Consult with professionals beforehand to understand the ideal dose for each civet.

4. Extra Vitamin Supplements

Though a healthy diet should be sufficient enough, it helps to feed your civets extra vitamin supplements as well. Usually, medical professionals would prescribe non-lactose and non-sugar vitamin supplements for their civets – because an excessive amount of lactose and sugar would cause diarrhoea. If you do not have access to medical professionals to get the proper prescription, or are looking to save up your expenses, a cheaper but just as efficient vitamin boost could be honey. Honey is well known to help boost immune systems with their anti-bacterial features. You could give doses of honey to your civets by mixing them into their drinks.

5. Exercise and Movement

The rainy season may be the perfect weather to sleep in and do nothing, but this isn’t a wise choice if you’d want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Combat your civet’s laziness by encouraging them to exercise and play with you. An active civet would have lower risks of obesity and other related muscle and bone problems. There are multiple ways of exercising, but one common practice is to put them up for a walk when the rain stops. This is also a fun bonding activity for you and your civet companion, that would not only strengthen your bond but keeps both active and healthy.

6. Recognise the Symptoms

In the unfortunate event that your civet has already fallen sick at this rainy season, you should be able to recognise the symptoms to take further action. Though dependent on the severity of the case, it is wise that you immediately consult medical professionals for help and advices. There are numerous symptoms that you, as their human companion, should be on the look out for. Though they may be different based of the types of health drawbacks, some of the common ones are:

Sudden aggression and crankiness
Loss of appetite
Watery stool
Weight loss
Demotivated to move
Shedding
Bruises (commonly found in fungi-related infections)

When you recognise any of these symptoms happening to your civet, be sure to consult medical professionals immediately for further actions or any prescription medication. The severity of the health drawbacks may be unpredictable at first, but it is better to be safe than sorry. By now, we hope you know how to care for your civets during the rainy season! Remember that these are just some helpful tips of ours, so other serious inquiries should be discussed with medical professionals. Good luck in surviving this rainy season!