From:
Troy Lynn Eckart
Date: 2010-08-07 17:23:28 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] ulcers and stress
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
My experience mirrors Tressie's. Ferrets can get stress ulcers from being picked on by other ferrets with some not showing symptoms for days.
In our case it was the Rainbow Exotics and Sully that became beasties as they matured. I came home one day to two ferrets with broken legs. After 20 years of free roam ferrets I had to start caging and separating for out times. It took me longer to adjust than the ferrets. The bullies/beasties aren't terribly happy with having only a basement/outside enclosure/back stairs area when they are out of their cages in the evenings and over night, but it is the way it has to be to keep the others safe.
The gentle and single ferrets were the ones most picked on and I noticed quickly they were not coming out of hiding often. When separated, they realized the bullies were kept in another area, they started coming out more often, but I noticed ulcer activity in several.
The problem with ulcers is that they can form without giving us clear visible signs. Some ferrets will gnash their teeth together when they start eating, some will eat very little. With treatments it can be very difficult to heal them completely. A small upset can cause them to re-occur.
Stress, in my opinion, is a serious medical condition when it comes to ferrets.
tle
www.ferretfamilyservices.org
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