From:
daneedv@aol.com
Date: 2002-06-01 07:03:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Help please - GI problem, possibly ECE??
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "maikeru207" wrote:
> Should I feed strictly chicken baby food until his poops
become less
> runny? Do you think he may have developed an aversion to
his usual
> kibble due to a possible correlation between his kibble and
the
> vomiting up of the hairball?
>
> If I can get him in tomorrow, I think I'll try to have the
vet run
> some blood tests to rule out other problems. Thanks for any
advice
> or comments. Michael
I am not a vet, but my personal experience is that when
ferrets are eating a baby food or soup diet, their poops tend
to stay much softer then when they are eating kibble. So, if
you keep Ubu on baby food until his poop is back to normal,
you may have him on baby food for life.
While ECE is always a possibility, it is always possible that
if he had one hairball, he may have another, and that could be
causing the problem. If you haven't checked out Dr. Williams
webpage on ECE, you might want to do so. That might give you
a better chance of deciding if Ubu does have the symptoms of
ECE. The URL is:
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/ECE/ECE.html
There is also an article in the files section of the FHL on
ECE by Dr. Williams. The URL to find that is:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list/files/
As to whether or not Ubu has developed an aversion to his
kibble, that may be possible. I have a girl who has IBD. A
few weeks ago, she had a serious episode, and stopped eating
kibble and drinking. After several days of supporting her
with medicine and Sub-Q fluids, she did start eating, but
would only eat baby food. She would eat that readily, and I
thinned it with water, so she got more fluid. It took over 2
weeks before she would even go near water or any other food,
though. I am still weaning her off the baby food, but at
least she will eat and drink a little on her own. Sometimes
it just takes time and patience.
Regardless, your plan to take Ubu to see your vet is a good
one. Nothing can replace the care and advice of a good vet.
Danee
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit
http://www.geocities.com/russiansmom