From:
Casey & Heather Zahorka
Date: 2002-01-08 12:02:00 UTC
Subject: [Ferret-Health-list] sick ferret
Hi Victor .What a story you do tell, my goodness.
While I cannot personally give you any info as to what might
be wrong with him, I can tell you that the two blue dots let
you know that he is a MF (Marshall's Ferret) and that 1 dot
let's you know he had his first set of shots (6 weeks old) and
the other let's you know he has been fixed. In order to tell
if you have a male ferret just look at his tummy. If you see a
"belly button" then you have male. Male ferret's tend to smell
a little more "musky" than female's do, just think how bad he
would smell if he was an intact male (known as a hob).
I would get him to a very good vet ASAP. He might still be
sick from all of the fleas. What type of shampoo did you use
on him?
The Iams kitten food is good, but see if you can't slowly get
him switched over to something like Zupreem, Mazuri or Totally
Ferret diet. Doesn't the University have a vet clinic that you
can take him to? Just a thought.
Good luck, keep us all posted. There are some awesome
people/vets on this list.
Heather & Remmi
-----Original Message-----
From: VICTORI885@aol.com [mailto:VICTORI885@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2002 8:40 AM
To: Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com
I live in Gainesville, FL, and I have
a sick ferret. I really need some advice on what to do. I
was driving at
night a couple days before xmas, and I saw a ferret run
across the road. I
pulled over and caught him. I approached him very slowly,
and he let me pick
him up. I picked him up with a towel that I had in my car.
He was wet and
scared. It was cold and rainy outside. I noticed he was
very curious from
the begining. I gave him dry dog food chopped and water for
the first night.
I think it is a male. So, I will just call it a "he." He
has great
temperment. He doesn't try to bite me and isn't too
aggressive. I don't
know how long he had been out, but he was starting to act
less lethargic. He
was infested with fleas, so I gave him a bath the next
morning. He didn't
like it, but we got through it. I have had many pets in my
life, and I have
never seen so many fleas on an animal before. His nose was
white, but turned
pink after having no fleas for a couple of days. I had to
go away for xmas,
and it got cold here. Last week it was in the 20's for a
couple of days. I
had a friend take care of the ferret for me. I've become
very attached to
it, and I take excellent care of him. I don't even mind
that he stinks so
much anymore. I made my friend promise to turn the heat on
if it got cold
like that, but I don't think he did. All I know now is that
for the past
couple of days little stinky can barely lift his head. He
has like no energy
at all. I feed him water through a dropper. He does drink
it. I also hand
feed him IAMS cat food. He does eat it. His digestion
system still is
working pretty well. Do you think he got sick because he
was already sick
from being outside? I am doing everything I can to take
good care of him and
to keep him hydrated. Should I wait a couple of days to see
if he improves
or take him to the vet today? He can kind of crawl around a
little, but he
isn't active like before. I go to the University of
Florida, and classes
are starting this week. It is a difficult time to get him
to the vet, but I
will do it. He also has the two dark blue markings behind
his ear. I am
guessing that it signifies his breeder. I have no idea what
shots he has had
and if he has been fixed. I am really upset that little
stinky is so weak. I
guess he just stopped eating. He is a little better now
that he is with me.
I would appreciate any advice that you have. I am also
sorry that this email
is longer than I anticipated.
Victoria Corr
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