From:
"Paula Peterson"
Date: 2010-06-13 04:51:00 UTC
Subject: RE: [ferrethealth] ECE Recovery
To: <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
Mike,
I am going through this myself with one of my personal ferrets and a 5 yr
old ferret with onset adrenal (not on meds yet). The 5 yr old has gotten
more dehydrated than the first one did but I still did subq(under the skin)
fluid boluses on both. I had a prescription for carafate when the 5 yr old
started and that helped to coat his mouth, throat and intestines. It helped
him eat sooner, I believe. He had never had chicken baby food and he won't
take ferretvite but I finally got him to lick at the baby food when I
crumbled up his favorite flavored treat in it. I never could force him to
eat and he would not take pedialyte or Gatorade for me.
He would drink for me after he felt a little better due to the fluids I gave
him subq. He gets tired easy when allowed to get out and run around. I am
very careful to wash hands after handling him and clean his cage with a
anti- bacterial, viral, fungal cleaner. He has been sick for probably 3
weeks but now eats both moist chunks and dry kibble and drinks on his own.
My other ferret looks really tired but plays some and does eat and poop
normal enough.
The carafate comes in a liquid form from a regular pharmacy with
prescription. Try it! Also, I did force pepto for the diarrhea but there
is another prescription anti-diarrheal drug the vet can give him. Any med
should be able to be flavored at most pharmacies but some compounding
pharmacies may do more animal meds and can get raisin and meat flavor I am
told.
Hang in there...
Paula
Forever Home Ferret Shelter
[No matter what the cause of not eating is when it also
causes dehydration Subcutaneous (literally meaning
"under the skin") Fluids help reduce nausea and increase
appetite. When two dry food can not be processed well
and vomiting can happen, also when too dry the mucus
membranes in the nose do not work well so the food can
not be smelled.
Using stinky food like a/d and adding heated water to it
to bring it to about ferret body temperature (around 102'F)
also helps make the food more interesting.
See the post on the use of feeding tubes, too. That was just
approved.
Be careful to not use Carafate close in time to any other
medications. Also, when it is given to coat the GI tract
do not give it near the time when food is given. For some
conditions using it near food is okay as a way to help firm
stools, but with some other causes of diarrhea you do not
want to firm the stools because the ferret's best chance of
survival is to pass the illness out while on supportive care,
with an example of the second being shiga toxin producing
E. coli. So, always ask the vet beforehand.
Be careful that any grape, currant or raisin flavoring does not
actually include any of those fruits since each has caused
acute kidney failure in ferrets, cats, and dogs. A dehydrated
ferret already has kidneys at risk.
Also, some really need IV for a while instead of just subq. If
we'd realized how badly off Spot's kidneys were we might have
been able to prevent the kidney damage he had from ECE by
using IV instead of twice daily subq during his enteric ECE.
-- Moderator]
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