Message Number: YG11481 | New FHL Archives Search
From: anais7813
Date: 2002-02-25 20:31:00 UTC
Subject: Re: new member -mystery ferret

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. I did bring Q-tip
into the vet early this morning since she still wasn't eating. I had
to drop her off since I didn't have an appointment. A short while
later the vet office called and said that as soon as Q-tip got in the
cage at the vet she ate half the bowl of ferret food in the cage. I
don't know why she didn't want to eat at home. I have been feeding
her Zupreem ferret diet for about a year. The vet's office had
Totally Ferret. I don't know if she just no longer wanted the
Zupreem or possibly I thought maybe she didn't like the container the
food was in. In the cage I put her in to be by herself it is a small
metal dish. I thought maybe she didn't like the food dish.

The vet did a fasting glucose test and found it to be indicative of
hypoglocemia and the insulinoma. They sent Q-tip home with some
Orapred to be given in addtion to the other three medicines they sent
home on Friday (Amoxil, Flogyl, and Pepto Bismol). She already seems
more aware and "up". I also purchased some of the Totally Ferret
since she seemed to be willing to eat that. The doctor said to give
her the medicine twice a day and return her next week, when he wants
to give a non-fasting glucose test.

We are still keeping her in a cage by herself to watch what she is
eating and drinking and of course her stools. I just gave her the
medicine and she was eating the Totally Ferret. I also bought a
small food dish, just in case it was the dish she didn't like.

Here are my questions. Is it okay to give her the nutri-cal vitamin
supplement(ferretVite)? I like to try and give it when I give
medicine, as a treat, but I'm not sure if it is okay with this
current diagnosis.

Also I don't mind giving her the Totally Ferret if I have to, but it
is more expensive and the only place I have to buy it is the vet's
office which is about an hour away. I wanted to see about possibly
mixing the zupreem and Totally Ferret, to make it last a little
longer. Not now while she is sick, but possibly when she is feeling
better and her weight is better. But I will do whatever is best for
my fuzzies.

Right now I'm just glad she seems to be eating and is even giving a
little fight when I give her medicine, which I much prefer over her
being too tired to fight. I will be watching her this week and see
what the vet says next week. Thank you everyone who emailed and
posted to me. I appreciate your time.

Jennifer and Q-tip






> For all practical purposes, though, she MUST eat. There's an
article
> in the files section on feeding and a more complete discussing of
> feeding & what to feed, how much is necessary, when, and why and...
> most importantly HOW to feed a ferret that doesn't want to eat at
> http://www.geocities.com/ferretsfirst/feeding.html
>
> Ferrets will virtually STARVE THEMSELVES TO DEATH just over an
upset
> stomach.
>
> For this case, I'd go with plain baby food without additives.
That's
> because with an intestinal inflammation, you could have nutritional
> absorption problems and difficulty digesting food. Baby food is
more
> easily digestible than kibble or other types of soup.
>