blockage or ulcer

Question
Hi there
I live in a country where it is illegal to own ferrets, but some of us still do, so there is only one vet who treats them.  My ferret came from an abusive home and we adopted him a month ago.  He often regurgitates his food, but is otherwise fine and immediately perky - they previous owners said he did this too after a while with him (no surprises there). But a few days ago he had some tarry poos and I was concerned, despite the perkiness, and took him to the "ferret vet".  She said it might be a stomach ulcer, but he had not been grinding his teeth as far as I have noticed (and I spoend a lot of time with him) and he is still doing it, despite the treatment.  I am wondering if maybe he is getting hairballs (like i saw in one of your previously answered questions (I am aware that you are not a vet, but you have good advice).  The ferret vet is away for a fortnight and i thought maybe I would try the treatment you recommended with the Vetasyl and Duc soup - will try it on the healthy ferret first, as I don't know if it would be a problem is it IS an ulcer.  The only problem is that we don't have the DUC soup here and I am nervous about buying online in case my ferret is discovered and seized.  Is there a recipe online for a suitable substitute for the soup that will work with the vetasyl?  Thanks!! Teresa

Answer
Hi Teresa:

You're in a difficult situation with only one vet there to help you and having to guard so carefullly to keep from having him confiscated from you. Bless you for trying so hard to help him - however it turns out, you will know you did your best. I will help you the best I can.

The tarry poops always indicate bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract. He is digesting the blood and passing it through his system as he would food, which is why is it coming out black. If it came out red, it would mean he was bleeding somewhere in the lower end of his digestive system - in the bowel past where digestion occurs.

It's quite possible he has a blockage, and the blockage *could* be causing the bleeding, but the usual cause for upper GI bleeding is ulcers and is found in ferrets who have had a difficult life, probably struggles for enough food and no consistency in food when he does get it.  The best thing you can do first thing is to get something very gentle on his tummy and keep him on that to try to calm down his digestive system and see if the tarry stools stop.  For this, I would recommend baby food like you find in jars. Chicken is usually best. My friend who has a ferret with this condition swears by "chicken and noodles" baby food. Always serve it warm. Any new food will be difficult to introduce, but put some on your finger and put your finger in the side of his mouth a few times and make him taste it. Once he gets a good taste of it, hopefully he will take to it. I would say to feed him whatever he eats best in the baby food (chicken base) for babies, not toddlers, as it is bigger pieces and he needs it as ground up as possible, in to "soup".

The other thing you can do to help bleeding in the upper GI is give Pepto Bismo (not sure what that would be in your country), a people medication, pink liquid.  3-cc's every six hours or so to help the stomach lining heal. In addition, there is a medication called Pepcid A/C that is a 12-hour stomach acid medication for people. Any ulcer medication would probably work if you can't get Pepcid A/C, but that's what we recommend. Dissolve the pill in 5-cc of water and give 1/2-cc every 12 hours; cover when not in use so the liquid doesn't evaporate. The ulcer medication will help heal the lining of the stomach.

The next thing you would consider is the Vetasyl and "soup" to check for any blockage he may have. Because his symptoms point so strongly towards a bleeding ulcer in his stomach, I would want to get him eating a nice gentle chicken baby food and have a couple days on the Pepto Bismol and Pepcid A/C before doing the Vetasyl and soup for blockages. You can request the company send the order in a "PLAIN PACKAGE SHIPPING" (write that on your order online) and it will come in a plain brown paper package. Since there are other places (our state of California is also not ferret legal, so they have to order this way) that have to order anonymously. The Vetasyl shouldn't be a problem to order legally, and the Uncle Jim's you can substitute baby food chicken (meat only) watered down to a *thin* gravy thickness and warmed to just above room temperature to feed. If you have Metamucil in your country, you can even substitute 1/3tsp Metamucil for the capsule of Vetasyl. Both are bulk substances that, when added to warm fluids swell up and as they move through the ferret's system, they tend to push any loose objects through.  Vetasyl treatment is basically harmless and there's no real way it could cause a problem UNLESS you don't give enough fluid with it and it could become too stiff to move through the ferret's system, so be sure to make the 'soup' very thin with extra water - much more than you would add if you were just feeding the ferret the baby food chicken. That's the only warning and it's a serious one, okay?

I have a limited space here to write. Hopefully I've answered most of your questions. Please feel free to write again and ask anything else you need to know or that will be of help to you. Keep your little man warm with lots of soft blankies and if you can, rock him and sing or hum to him a lot while holding him across your chest so he can feel the vibrations and it will relax him and help him heal. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your precious little one.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers