From:
PCerny@milwpc.com
Date: 2002-07-17 02:04:07 UTC
Subject: Ferret with Allergies
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <44580.1026871447092.JavaMail.root@scandium>
My 7.5 year old male ferret(Zeke) was recently diagnosed with allergies( inhaled, contact and food). This is extremely rare in a ferret and there is no medical established guidelines for medical management. Food allergies are harder to control with medication. My ferret is on two medications (Pediapred and Hydroxyzine). Both medications work most of the time and when one doesn't work, I give him a dose of the other one.
I recently read Dr. Bruce Williams article on how to feed a sick ferret. I have been mixing my ferrets kibble food(Marshall's) with Eukanuba(for kittens) and Gerber Chicken Baby Food. My ferret will only eat if his food is mixed with Gerber Chicken Baby Food or A/D and the kibble food must be ground to a soupy oatmeal consistency. I do not use A/D anymore as my ferret was getting too fat.
Two veterinarians are working with me so that Zeke is comfortable. One veterinarian suggested a hypoallergenic food and one of the veterinarians thinks that Zeke will react to the hypoallergenic food also. I have the option of trying IVD Rabbit or Hill's Z/D(I've tried Wysong and Venison IVD which Zeke reacted to).
My questions are these:
1) Will Zeke get proper nutrition from a hypoallergenic food?
2) Zeke does better on the Eukanuba than the Marshall's but reacts to both. I started mixing the Marshall's with the Eukanuba as I had read that only ferret foods will give a ferret the proper nutrition. At this stage of the game....can I just use Eukanuba? Zeke's "droppings" look better when I add Marshall's to the Eukanuba.
3) Can he eat the baby food cold and how often is he suppose to eat? We've been putting food in an automatic feeder and trying to feed him every 3 to 5 hours but Gerber told me that I shouldn't leave their food out longer than an hour. The feeder has an icepack below the food which I've been using. I also am reluctant to leave food out as Zeke eats all of it at once and gets the diarehea.
4) When Dr. Williams fed his ferret with IBD 1/2 ferret and 1/2 Gerber's Chicken baby food, how often did he feed the ferret this food and what did he do when he wasn't home to feed him? I read that the food should be warmed to a little above room temperature(which I do when I am home) but I am not always home to feed him and I am leary of leaving the baby food out for a day unless it's in an automatic feeder with an icepack.
5) Are there medications my ferret can take that would make him less drowsy and would last longer? He has gained a lot of weight recently and I am worried about his health.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
Mary