Message Number: FHL4880 | New FHL Archives Search
From: "kristinepotter"
Date: 2008-05-08 04:05:33 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Bloody Diarrhea
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com

Hi Lauren,

I hope things are going better with your ferrets. I wanted to say a
couple of things in response to your post. First of all, you said that
your ferrets have bloody diarrhea. Diarrhea, alone, is enough to
warrant genuine concern. It appears that you're taking steps to avoid
dehydration, but keeping up with diarrhea in a ferret is no easy task.
If it continues beyond a full day, I'd seek medical attention myself.
Food and water pass quickly through ferrets, and they don't get a whole
lot of time to absorb water when it's available in their intestines.

Like you, I would be very, very concerned if I found blood in my
ferrets' stool. And I'd be tremendously concerned if it was happening
in more than one. That, I feel, warrants a vet exam right away. I'm
surprised to learn that your vet's office (or whoever is handling
his/her calls) said to not be alarmed.

If you can't keep up with the dehydration, your ferrets could be in
poor shape by Friday. I'm not a vet, and I've only started learning
about ferret health in the last two years, but what I have seen and
read has led me to seek veterinary care sooner for my ferrets than I
might for my dogs or my cat (and it's not that I don't worry about them
just as much), most especially when the problem concerns their
digestive tract. Add bloody stool to the mix, and I'm in a
veterinarian's office on the day.

If my vet's office told me to not be alarmed and come for a visit two
days later, I'd probably call another vet's office for a second
opinion. That said, I'll follow it with advice to remain calm and keep
your wits about you. Don't get hysterical, but I would be alarmed (and
at least somewhat freaked). I wish you the best.

--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "Lauren" <ferretgrl04@...> wrote:
>
> My ferrets have such bad Diarrhea that it is bloody! I talked to my
> vet, and she told me that i should not be alarmed (though i am
> extremely freaked), and give them 1 cc of Pepto, which i did. They had
> really soft stools yesterday, but i gave them their normal chicken
> with olive oil and ferretone mixed with it like i always do. They also
> received ferretlax. I am an Idiot, because i think that is what made
> it so bad. My dad is also going to buy some pedialyte for them. WHAT
> ELSE CAN I DO TO GET IT UNDER CONTROL??? HELP!!!!
> Also, they had Giardia last year, so it would not surprise me if it is
> back. I have to wait till Friday for the Vet. They are out, and are
> playing, but obviously they are not as hyper as normal.
>



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