Constant Diarrhea

Question
I adopted an adult male ferret, and was told by previous owner that they had just changed his food and he had diarrhea, so i waited 3 weeks to see if it had changed. it hasnt, i changed foods and every 2 months i get different food to see if it is an allergy. He still has it, he is active most of the time. I noticed his belly is looking like a greenish/bluish color from right above the penis area for about 2 inches. his poop looks like normal poop just watery. he lives in a 3 tiered cage, and a bedroom for him to run around. there is nothing he could have eaten that wasnt food. the room is ferret proof. I tried him on a diet of 8 in 1 special ferret diet, still had runs. tried kitten food, still had them. i have also tried wet cat food. without the diarrhea and now discoloring of the belly area, he is playful and active for the most part.

Answer
Hi Ayreika,

It sounds to me like the reason for his runny poops is all the food changes. Ferrets imprint on the food which means they get used to the smell of their food and they don't recognize anything else as food. It is hard on their tummy to switch their food all the time and they have trouble going from one food to the other. You should pick a high quality food and stick with it.

Here is a food chart:

http://www.mdferretpaws.org/care/food_treats.html

This compares all the foods people normally feed to their ferrets and it ranks them from 1 to 10, 10 being the best. Ferrets should have food that is 36% protein, 20-22% fat, and no more than 3% fiber. Also, corn shouldn't be in any of the three to five ingredients. You should pick one that is up on the top of the list, and the switch should be very gradual. You should start out with about 85% old food, 15% new food and do that for a week. The next week, you should do 75% old food, 25% new food and so on. That switch will be easy on his tummy and it will get him on a better food that will help his energy level and his poops. Just know that the runs are to be expected for about a week, maybe 10 days at most. Any longer than that, he should see a vet, but I don't imagine it will last that long. Just make sure he is staying hydrated. The way you can check to make sure he is hydrated is to check his gums. If his gums are nice and pink and wet, he is fine. If they are pale and tacky, you need to get some fluids in him. You should put Ferretone on the top of his water to entice him to drink. Also another way to check is to scruff him, and then see if his skin snaps back right away or if it stays tented. If it stays tented, you should take him to a vet to get some fluids in him.

I hope this helps and if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews