Non-invasive blood pressure measurement in ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) using high definition oscillometry

•High definition oscillometry for non-invasive blood pressure measurement in anaesthetised ferrets was validated.•Measurements at the tail and forelimb resulted in significantly less bias compared to measurements at the hind limb.•High definition oscillometry and direct arterial blood pressure measurement were highly correlated for these locations.•Non-invasive blood pressure measurement was successful in all ferrets using 0.2mg/kg of both butorphanol and midazolam.•Reference ranges for non-invasively obtained systolic, mean and diastolic arterial pressures were established in young, healthy ferrets. This study was conducted to validate the use of high definition oscillometry (HDO) for non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) measurements in ferrets and to establish reference ranges for NIBP in minimally sedated, healthy, young adult ferrets (0.90), it showed significant proportional bias, whereby HDO generally underestimated DABP with hyper- and normotensive conditions, and overestimated DABP with hypotensive conditions. Measurements obtained from the hind limb showed higher bias than those obtained from the tail or forelimb (P