From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2003-01-15 22:59:53 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Update on True Bilateral Adrenalectomy and Question on Malnutrition
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-Id: <20030115175953.0b3ac6c2.whiteweasel@earthlink.net>
Hi, Betty, and everyone else,
On Tue, 14 Jan 2003 10:17:50 -0700
Betty <blurofur@shaw.ca> wrote:
> little Nova has
> suddenly made a complete turnaround. For the past 4 weeks, Nova has
> eaten and drank on her own. She is still thin as a rail (under a half
> pound) but we can feel that she is building fat pads where she needs
> them. And best news to date is that she is finally growing fur!
It sounds like her electrolytes are finally back in balance. When the
electrolytes are off our bilateral weasels (Pertwee, Ryo-Ohki) were
lethargic and miserable. They didn't want to eat. Once things got in
balance they improved rapidly. If they had problems again it meant
something else was wrong.
> Question: At what point is a ferret considered to be malnutritioned?
I don't know the answer. I do know that Pertwee lost almost half his
body weight (1,390g -> 729g) and seemed to be on death's door. That was
three and a half years ago. He's a happy, bouncy 1,120g now, and has
been as high as 1,394g. Ferrets can recover from being amazingly thin.
> I
> understand that there is a point in which a ferret can consume a great
> deal but not have the system to process the food properly.
There are things that can cause that, yes. Pertwee started losing
weight again about a year and a half ago. Our vet tried a number of
things and then began treating him for pancreatitis. Once we mixed
pancreatic enzyme (Viokase-V) into some gravy for him he started gaining
weight again. You may want to discuss that and other possibilities with
your vet.
Also, are you feeding Nova a very high quality food? Our vet does
encourage Bob Church's Chicken Gravy (see
http://www.trifl.org/gravy.html ), and in our experience it, plus
Nutrical or Ferretvite as a treat, can really put the weight back on
skinny weasels who've been through the mill. Plus, most ferrets seem to
really like the stuff, which helps. It certainly has Pertwee's
approval. He'll eat it by the bowlful.
I'm not a vet, of course, and I always recommend discussing things like
this with your vet.
All the best,
Caity and the oh-so-playful nine