Message Number: SG10707 | New FHL Archives Search
From: tg830@hotmail.com
Date: 2004-09-16 14:51:34 UTC
Subject: Questions Regarding Loss Of Appetite
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <2695195.1095346294044.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>

My girlfriend and I have two ferrets, male and female, ages 7 and 6.5 respectively.

They are both recovering from a suspected bout with ECE, contracted in mid August, 2004.

JAY, the male, is insulinomic, and had his left adrenal removed in June, 2003. His normal weight prior to the recent illness was 1.6 lbs, got down to a low of 1.0 lbs, now hovering around 1.4 to 1.5 lbs.

BABY, the female, had her left adrenal removed in June, 2004. Her normal weight prior to the recent illness was 2.4 lbs, got down to a low of 1.4 lbs, now hovering around 1.6 lbs.

Both were put on PediaPred, Amoxicillin, Sucralfate, and Interferon as part of the course of treatment.

Jay, obviously, is still on the PediaPred, and Baby was put on Baytril, as a precaution, due to a snort she developed over the last month of forced feedings. We were concerned that she may have aspirated some medicine or Duck Soup while being syringe fed. Initially, she resisted quite alot to the forced feedings, but has come around for the most part, after a month of feedings.

Both ferrets started gaining weight back with 4 tsps. of Duck Soup, 5 times a day. As they have gotten healthier, they have started to resist the syringe feedings, so we dropped the amount to 2 tsps, 5 times a day.

Weight loss started again, and it appears they need 3 tsps, 5 times a day to maintain their current body weight.

Our Duck Soup recipe is as follows:

2 Cups Totally Ferret Finely Ground
1 Bottle Strawberry Ensure
1 3/4 Cups Pedialyte Unflavored
1 Can Natural Balance Ultra Blend Cat Food
2 Jars Gerber Chicken and Chicken Gravy Baby Food
2 Tbsp Ferretone
30 Grams Ferretvite

Now, this works out to roughly 75 grams of Duck Soup, per ferret, per day.

The past week, we have been attempting to try and wean them off of the Duck Soup and back on to kibble, with little or no success.

Baby has begun to eat kibble again, but only with encouragement, and not very much during any one sitting. By sitting, I mean that we make sure that every 3-4 hours, except overnight, she eats some food. The amount is usually only 8-10 pieces of kibble. If she is not in the mood for kibble, she will eat about 1 tsp of hand fed Duck Soup, per sitting.

Jay will not eat on his own at all.

>From all outward appearances, they have both recovered from their illness, but neither has regained their appetite.

Both ferrets had ravenous appetites prior to get sick, and they both are drinking an adequate amount of water daily.

We have tried caging them seperately, to determine if they were eating while we were not at home. Again, Baby ate a little, Jay did not eat at all.

Now, for the questions....

What is considered the normal daily food requirement? (Grams of kibble/Kilogram of body weight)

Does anyone have ANY suggestions on how to re-stimulate their appetite?

Is it common for a ferret to have a loss of appetite for this long a duration following a GI tract illness?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Tim and Wendy