From:
cherrisa@unforgettable.com
Date: 2001-05-08 09:57:00 UTC
Subject: ECE update 4 weeks in
Well my ferrets have now had ECE for a little over 4 weeks. Skippy
has made it through insulinoma surgery through it and is now eating
fairly well with solid stools and no seeds. The last few days she has
gained a lot of weight back and has decided she wants to play now.
Bugsy on the other hand has been a different story. He has lost most
of his weight. After several trips to the vet because he wouldn't
eat at all and him looking like a skeleton with skin we have decided
to try a different round of medicine. Of course I don't have it
right here with me but will post it when I get home. It is a mixture
of amox/pepto/and some really really bitter stuff. This is, as I am
told, to kill the bacteria that causes ulcers. So far it seems to be
working. He still grinds his teeth in between eating pieces and
looks like it is hurting him to swallow but he is at least eating a
few pieces here and there.
I have also found a receipe that works for me for mush. I use a half
a can of Science Diet AD with 1/2 tsp of Vanilla flavored Protien
powder and 1/4 tsp of kaydeolyte (this is a powdered electrolyte I
found at walgreens if anyone is interested) then I mix in enough
water to make it soupy.
Since Bugsy is eating he only gets 10ml a sitting and then before I
go to bed he gets 20ml. He has been eating at night and slowly
gaining weight so I believe that this is enough. Skippy likes the
taste of it so I just squirt 6ml in a bowl and let her lick what she
wants out of it. Skippy and Bugsy have both decided that they only
want to eat Friskies cat food right now so I'm just letting them eat
what they want and supplimenting it with the mush.
A lot of people where telling me to put weight gainer powder in with
it but since that contains a lot of sugar I decided that wasn't a
good idea because both Skippy and Bugsy were having problems with
their blood sugar spiking and dropping to a low level when I fed them
ferretvite.
I just wanted to share my experience with everyone because as the vet
says he hasn't seen a ferret as stubborn as Bugsy trying to get him
back eating again. (And I thought Skippy would be the tough one).
I also want to thank everyone that has offered me advice and got me
through the panic stages when I was so overwhelmed with all of the
information.
Thanks again and I'll send another update in two weeks.
Cherri