From:
caitlyn@mizuhoradio.com
Date: 2009-03-18 23:39:49 UTC
Subject: RE: [ferrethealth] Not Absorbing Nutrients
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi, Katharine,
There are a lot of different issues which can cause malabsorption of
nutrients. Some are very treatable and others are not. We ran into
this issue with Pertwee. Our vet talked about all sorts of
possibilities he had seen in ferrets from sprue (coeliac disease) to
pancreatitis. Sprue, he told us, is fatal. We treated for pancreatitis
(no definitive test at the time) by feeding Pertwee Bob Church's chicken
gravy mixed with Viokase-V powder three times a day to add pancreatic
enzymes to his diet. In Pertwee's case that was the correct answer; he
had chronic pancreatitis. It's something worth asking your vet about.
Once we added the Viokase-V to his diet he gained weight slowly and
eventually got back close to a normal body weight.
Information on Viokase-V for cats and dogs is here:
http://www.drugs.com/vet/viokase-v-powder.html There is more which
includes a little on ferrets at:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=0+1303+1459&aid=1453
Fair warning: Viokase-V is expensive. We paid in excess of $70 for 4
oz. I think that lasted around a month to six weeks. It's been quite a
few years so I don't remember exactly. There probably is information I
posted at the time in the archives if the go back to 2002 or so.
The usual disclaimers apply: I'm not a vet, just a moderately
experienced ferret owner who dealt with a similar issue in a medically
challenged adult ferret. I have no experience with malabsorption of
nutrients in kits.
I hope this helps.
All the best,
Caity and the terrific trio
(Ella, Zephyr, and Chin Soon)
[Moderator:
The posts in the archives go back to Feb 2001.]
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:ferrethealth-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:ferrethealth-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ferrethealth-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/