From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2007-06-28 21:19:13 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Back from the Symposium in Portland
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
That fur wrapping is interesting. It is rather like
what happens with owl pellets I've dissected.
As to perforations from bones. One of our own
vets (who has since moved to another state after
marriage) encountered a perforated esophagus
which was fatal, and some vets here have
mentioned perforations of the intestine. I do NOT
know if any of the ferrets involved ate whole prey,
though.
I am also curious whether the length of the fur
makes a difference in passing. Rabbit hair breaks
easily; that is why pineapple juice helps them with
furball issues when it doesn't help other animals.
See:
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/SG15247
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/YG557
etc.
We have encountered furballs but only in TWO
situations. One was a ferret who had GI
malformations including a very enlarged, thinly
walled stomach that was very friable and had poor
motility. (He was one of the individuals with multiple
deformations we took into our family.) The other
turned out to NOT have a "furball" in reality. What he
had was a similar looking structure which was mostly
composed of artificial fleece fibers from that fake
sheep's fleece which is used line many ferret beds. He
also liked to eat in beds. Since then the items they are
allowed to use are ones in which I have covered that
material with sheeting fabric and no problems have
occurred in the many years since. (There are secondary
benefits: the beds clean more easily and last longer.)
BTW, we only rarely use any laxative preparations, but
when the seasons change we do dislodge loose fur with
a flea comb for their comfort and to prevent ingestion.
That has long been a habit here.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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