From:
sukiecrandall@telocity.com
Date: 2002-08-20 00:25:58 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] RE: Exploratory Surgery
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <12273004.1029803158364.JavaMail.root@scandium>
One of the reasons behind fasting is that then they are far less likely to have regurgitation during anesthesia (which is dangerous) if their stomachs are empty. Some vets do the fasting themselves, especially if there is insulinoma present in which case a dextrose drip is a smart thing to have on board during fasting. The amount of fasting can vary. Due to a stomach problem our Scooter has trouble with being empty enough and he needs an unusually long fast rather than needing the more usual 4 hour transit time. Since Tootie doesn't have insulinoma this is not a concern. Ferrets (except for those who have insulinoma or some other terribly serious problems) aren't going to collapse from going without one (four hours) or two (eight hours) meals.
We used to make our own sick times recovery foods: some with kibble, some without, some made entirely from scratch. Over the years we noticed that they did as well with meat baby foods or with a/d -- depending on the type of illness. We do make things for them still but we are glad that there are options which serve them so well also available for us, and we feel no guilt about using convenient alternatives that they thrive on.
(In 20 years we have not yet lost a ferret in surgery or in the recovery weeks afterward, so I guess we aren't doing too badly.)