From:
Bruce Williams, DVM
Date: 2001-05-10 22:43:00 UTC
Subject: Re: starving ferret help duck soup..
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "StarAngels" <starangels@q...> wrote:
> Hello I'm Cheryl and I'm new here
>
> I have 3 fuzzy's 2 are just great and wonderful.. I also just
adopted a baby
> girl last thursday she is a skinny minny.. she was taken away from
her
> owners and sent to the pound so i took her home it took me a few
days to
> find the kind of food she likes but she will only eat like 3 or 4
peices and
> that's it a day! I have tried to wet it a little and lot ect...
she does
> sleep alot.. and she's already been to the vet for her first shot..
Dear Cheryl:
Perhaps i am missing something, but you say that you have a young
ferret who is thin, but does have a food that she likes and she is
active, but sleeps a lot?
Right now you ae not telling me anything that is markedly abnormal -
young ferrets often do not eat tremendous amounts (they actually tend
to eat more, but it is often when we don't see them), and her
activity and stools are fine.
I have
> heard of duck soup and tried to find the stuff for it but i can't
seem to
> find it can anyone give me the reciept for it? and she is drinking
water
> pretty good which is where i'm putting her vit's she gets out and
plays
> with the others and all.. and her stools are ok.. till this am now
they are
> runny which i tried to give her pepto for it but everytime i try to
give her
> something she like pukes it out I only give her just a very tiny
bit but it
> don't matter
First off, Pepto is not a good treatment for diarrhea - in fact it's
totally ineffective for diarrhea. Let's stop that. Also if her
stools are bad following forcing PB - which ferrets hate - it may
simply be due to moving around with the diet, and the stress of
trying to get the PB in her that is causing the diarhea.
Let's try something - weigh her today, just give her the food that
she likes as much as she wants, and weigh her in three days. If the
weight is the same, then she is probably holding her own, and all you
are dealing with a likely a stressed ferret due to a new environment
and some dietary shifts. Remember, being adopted is a major stress.
I'm betting as she becomes accustomed to her new surroundings, this
sorts itself out.
Starving ferrets are the ones that won't eat anything at all. If she
is eating a little bit right now, she may well be doing okay, even
though you think she is starving. Watch her weight carefully -
that'll tell you.
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
Join the Ferret Health List at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
. i want to try the duck soup and maybe baby food? now i saw
> where someone said chicken and the todder size is this correct i
know most
> her problem is lack of food.. help she needs to eat!! also on
digest so
> direct quick replay would be helpful Starangels@q...
>
> Thanks Mom of starving snowball :(
> and mom of two wonderful fat ferrets!