From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2007-03-23 17:30:33 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Constipation...& loss of Oxygen
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
What this ferret needs is vet care.
Giving respirations the way you describe is dangerous. In the first place, if there is stuck
food you can blow it into the lungs. In the second place, their lungs are not large. Giving
two big breaths could be too much for him and potentially hazardous. When AR is done
with ferrets the mouth is placed over the ferret's muzzle and little cheek puffs are used,
nothing more than that.
KIbble stuck in the throat is exceedingly rare.
If he was not getting air he would be turning blue: cyanosis.
There are several things I want you to discuss trying with a treating vet, but you have to
get this ferret to a vet.
If there is trouble swallowing (dysphagia) I want you to listen if there are strange noises
like gurgling. Also, if the vet okays it see if a soft diet eaten while the ferret is held
vertically works better. Do not force the food. Just offer something like meat baby food
or a/d from your finger.
Constipation is rare in ferrets -- very rare -- but blockages are not.
Also, have the vet do blood tests: CBC and Chemistry Profile. Insulinoma can cause
nausea and on and off redness.
Because of the nausea I also want to ask what color the bowel movements are.
Mast cell tumors produce a lot of histamine so they itch. Since those growths do not itch I
think you need to ask the vet about possibly doing skin biopsies, but they should at least
be looked at by a ferret vet.
You mention fur loss. Adrenal disease can cause prostate enlargement which blocks
urine, but one thing that can happen when urine flow is blocked is that bowel movements
can be, too. In fact, when we had two with cystine stones the first symptom of each was
constipation.
If you need to find a ferret vet:
http://ferrethealth.org/vets/
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/vets.htm
http://www.ferretcongress.org (crit refs but there is a lot more there)
http://www.supportourshelters.org (shelters and the vets they use)
http://www.quincyweb.net/quincy/vet.html
http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html
http://www.ferretuniverse.com/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/houseferrets13uk/Vets.html (UK vets)
http://www.ferrets.org/Veterinarian_Listings.htm (British Columbia vets)
http://www.ferretnews.org/clinic.html (California-specific)
http://www.ferretsanonymous.com/medical.html (California)
http://www.vetcontact.com/en/vet.php?k=91 (Specialists anywhere)
You can also ask regional clubs, look in magazines, and do Google searches.
These all vary from each other and some are more up to date than others because they
rely on people sending in updates
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, Carol <iluvmefuzzies5@...> wrote:
>
> My ferret Ray has a problem with constipation from
> time to time. and someone told me to give him plain
> yogurt, any suggestions? also, after he eats his food
> thats been soften up. if there happens to be a hard
> kibble in it, and if it stays stuck in his throat I
> guess, he remains still his paws turn extemely red and
> his ears, like he's without any oxygen, and what I do
> is I breath over his mouth and nose like two big good
> ones and like pat him, then put him on the floor, Ray
> will like try and shake himself out of it and
> sometimes it's like a 5 min process. maybe even a few
> minutes longer.. I need to no some ideas, I also open
> my window for him to get air, that seems to help to
> but dont take him out of it.. also he also has two
> cell mast tumor, one on the top of his head which
> looks like a pimple and the other on the side of
> body.. they are not itchy, he doesnt look to scratch
> them, it's doesnt even bother him. and his stool is
> normal and he eats on a regular.. he does have hair
> loss and it's been a year now since his hair loss, but
> the tumors he had since 2004. but he is (acts)like
> normal ferret.I'm just concerned about the oxygen and
> the constipation. and what I can do at home... He's
> not a young guy ferret either...and still is the Alpha
> nobody messes with him...
>
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