From:
Melissa Litwicki
Date: 2002-01-02 16:59:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Help, ferret is still not eating after 2 weeks (...)
> Message: 22
> Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2002 18:22:37 -0000
> From: "dorinnek" <dorre@a...>
> Subject: Help, ferret is still not eating after 2 weeks, vet info too
>
> I am new to this group and have turned to you in need. Please if you
> can give me some answers. My male ferret who is 3 suddenly stopped
> eating about 3 weeks ago. Took him to the vet 2 weeks ago and she did
> a blood workup and found his lymphocytes to be about 4500 also some
> bacteria in his feces. She said he is grinding his teeth also. She
> put him on 2.0 cc of amoxi and 2.o cc of flagyl. It has been 2 weeks
> and my ferret Toby is still not eating. I have added 1ml of pepto
> before forcefeeding him. I am very worried and don' know what to do.
> Should I see results by now. He is still grinding his teeth too. I
> also have a female ferret should I be concerned about her as well.
> Please help as I am at a loss.
Hi,
You probably don't need to worry about your female ferret. It sounds like
your vet thinks your male ferret has a gastric ulcer - was that in fact
diagnosis? If so, persistence with both medications and feedings is the
key here. First, read the information at the following URLs:
http://ferretcentral.org/faq/med/ulcers.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/helicobacter.htm
Even if it's not an ulcer, you probably want to get some food into him.
There are plenty of very tasty 'mush' recipes out there for sick ferrets.
Most take some time in preparation and require a number of ingredients.
See the page at
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/duck_soup.htm
and particularly refer to the first link, Bob Church's Chicken Gravy,
which is an excellent ailing ferret diet. However, in a pinch, a mixture
of 1/2 chicken baby food, 1/2 ground kibble (the type your ferret eats),
plus enough water or chicken stock to give it a pudding consistency, works
well when warmed up slightly and offered to the ferret on a fingertip (be
prepared to spend quite a few minutes feeding them this way! :) This will
tide him over temporarily until he's interested in his solid food again.
I'm not a huge fan of the sugary Ensure or Boost, or herbal supplements,
but they may work well in some recipes. Also, I believe I heard somewhere
that you shouldn't give a dosage of Pepto at the same time as other meds -
it may prevent absorption. Am I misremembering, or is that correct?
Thanks,
Melissa