From:
srgill@iglou.com
Date: 2001-06-06 19:31:00 UTC
Subject: Weird Poo...
Hi! I'm concerned about my 2 1/2 yo ferret Tycho and I'm hoping
someone can give me some advice...
Late last week, I noticed that my critter seemed to have some "snot-
like" substance near his litter pan. Since I didn't see it
deposited, I thought maybe he threw up or something but he seemed to
be acting normally.
Finally, last weekend, I saw that it was coming from his rear end.
It was kind of clear and runny running to opaque white in spots.
Again, he seemed to be acting and eating normally so I decided to
keep a close eye on it and if it didn't clear up in a day or two or
if he started acting in any way strange we were going to the vet.
Sunday evening, I noticed that he hadn't used the pans anywhere I
could find. He seemed to have a bit less energy than normal, also.
I was concerned that he could have a blockage of some kind so I gave
him some Petromalt and decided to take him to the vet Monday
afternoon if nothing happened.
Monday afternoon, he had a normal poo in his cage and I even watched
him do another. He seemed to have regained his energy too and even
seemed a bit more playful than normal. I though perhaps he just got
ahold of something that disagreed with him and decided to remain
watchful but hold off on the vet for now.
As of now, so far as I can tell, everything is normal. He's his
normal playful self. I continued with a small daily dose of Petromalt
just in case, but he now seems OK.
When I called a friend of mine who had had several ferrets in the
past and asked if he'd seen anything like that before, he told me
that I should definately take Tycho to the vet for bloodwork (I was
planning to anyway as a precaution) because his ferrets had all died
of cancer and had all exhibited similar symptoms off and on.
He said that they would have snotty stool, have periods with no
activity, and then seem to get better in cycles. He said that each
time his critters ended up having cancer and he said it could be an
early symptom. Since all of his ferrets exhibited this and all died
of cancer, I'm not sure if this is something common to all ferrets or
if it really is a symptom of disease. I'm still taking him to the
vet but I was wondering if anyone else out there had heard of this.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Steve and Tycho