From:
Kate Ball
Date: 2001-03-28 23:05:00 UTC
Subject: Re: a question for Dr Williams or other vets
luvri@h... wrote:
I have a 2 1/2 year old male who has always been extremely healthy. A
couple of weeks ago he started to exhibit some strange habits. He
seems to grind his teeth often when eating, which I understand
usually means the ferret is experiencing some discomfort or pain. He
also makes frequent, urgent trips to the litter pan. He pushes and
pushes but only small amounts of his stool come out sometimes, and
sometimes nothing at all. He is eating in much smaller amounts, so I
can understand not as much coming out, but this is starting to get me
very worried. He has gotten slimmer, but not skinny. Other than that
he is pretty normal. He has a ton of energy and does seem to want to
eat more than he actually does. He does not vomit or show any other
signs of anything wrong with him. He has also been urinating fine as
far as I can tell.
I am not an expert but I am a vet...I'd be concerned about the possibility
of a blockage (hairball or foreign object) causing the signs in your little
guy - sometimes a blockage can be palpated by your vet. Other possible
causes would be GI ulcers (usually secondary to Helicobacter) or possibly
(but less likely) inflammatory bowel disease. A blockage usually requires
surgery; ulcer treatment is medical (various drugs - amoxi, carafate, pepto
bismol, pepcid, metronidazole). Hope this helps!
Kate Ball, DVM
Locport,IL
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