Ferret eating or chewing fabric

Question
QUESTION: Dear Emily
I have a vet appointment in the morning for my ferret but I wanted to ask your opinion. He is approx. 9 weeks old, I have had him less than 2 weeks. I bought him at Petco, just on impulse one day. I have 2 others, well 3 now and have never had this happen. I suspect that it is a number of factors, stress, weaned too early, and new home, possibly some kind of parasite (hopefully not). I did not notice this right away, I only noticed when I went to wash the bedding. I have a blanket that I made into a sleep cubby and when I went to wash it I noticed holes and no pieces so I have to believe he ingested these. Since then I have watched for any signs of a blockage. I called the vet and they thought if he is eating and pooping and acting normal than they could see him tomorrow morning. This was Friday, but they told me to call if any signs of vomiting ect...

This(the chewing) is occuring after eating, and before sleep. If he has nothing to chew on he paces and is restless. It seems to help if I rock or walk him until he falls asleep, but not always and not after eating. I am utterly exhausted, I have been up for nearly 3 days watching him to make sure he does not ingest anything. I have taken everything from his cage and have kept him with me nearly 24/7. I know I sound paranoid but I lost a ferret last year and I cannot bear to lose another without doing everything I possibly can. It does not matter the material, the carpet, blankets,hammocks,jean,parachute,paper,ect... he even tries with my shirt when I am holding him. He has lost weight even though he is eating well. I have tried duck soup and I am running out to get the chicken baby food tonight. I have not been able to get him to eat anything besides Marshall Ferret, but have been able to mix it with duck soup. I have A/D on hand and have tried this as well but he will not eat it. I have tried hand feeding, putting a little on his front teeth, and a bit on his nose. No luck yet. I don't want to take the regular food away because I am afraid he will lose more weight.

Since I have has him I have offered 3 different foods everytime he eats to try and get him to eat another. I also cannot get him to eat the Marshall moistened unless it is watery he will only eat watery or dry. I thought maybe if i got one of his siblings it might make him feel more secure so I did that and it has helped a little, he sleeps longer once i have him sleeping if I lay him in with his sister. But the difference in their muscle structure scares me. He is thin and frail feeling compared to her. Do you have any idea what else I can do?

1) How old the ferret is
9 weeks, albino male, smallest in the litter
2) Any illness history and preexisting maladies,
none that I am aware of and I contacted the pet store (Petco), they offered to treat him but I have a good vet. I don't think leaving him in a strange place will help, and truthfully I don't want to leave him in someone I do not know's care as they have said I would have to. I was not looking for them to pay, just trying to see if there may have been another case like mine. I have a strong feeling that he is younger than I was told, he is the smallest ferret I have ever seen. When I saw him in the store he was just sitting in his bowl eating while all the others played. He is really sweet and he reminded me of the ferret I lost.
3) What food the ferret gets,
At the moment I have only been able to get him to eat what the pet store was feeding him, Marshall. My other ferrets eat 8 in one, Totally ferret, and Marshall. I like to get them eating more than one food in case I have to change.
4) What the ferret's last poop looked like
normal color, size, and texture. He is going to the bathroon regular and drinking and eating fine. He is playing and behaving normal. It is his weight that scares me. I just know in my heart that is is not a healthy weight. Like he has no muscle tone. And the only time I have seen a ferret this way was a sick ferret. Any information would be appreciated. Any addition questions I should ask my vet? I know firsthand how quickly a ferret can decline and I don't want to miss anything.

Thank You

5) What sort of environment he/she lives in.
I have a bedroom for my ferrets and they free roam when we are home. The areas I keep gated are the kitchen and one of the bathrooms. The babies are caged if no one is there to supervise, but I have had them out because I have not even gone to work. I stayed home Thurday and Friday and have not left them alone. When he falls asleep I put him in with his sister and try to catch a couple winks. I have been getting up every 2 hours sometimes more to check. If he is up them I am too. It's kind of like having a newborn and a toddler rolled into one. But I am okay with it.

ANSWER: Hello Niccole,

I am so sorry for your loss of your previous ferret. I know how difficult it is to lose a pet and I hope you're doing better now! I also want to thank you for being so thorough and I want to say that your kids are so lucky that they have such a loving, caring ferret mommy! I am so sorry I didn't get back to you sooner! How did the vet visit go? Is your little guy okay? How is he doing? What did the vet say about his frailty?

Something to remember about Petco ferrets are they come from Marshall Farms and they have a heck of time getting to you! They are taken from their mothers too early and they go through a surgery that is too early and then they are shipped to a pet broker where they sit until they are old enough to be given to the pet store, where they are fed Marshall's ferret food, which is generally ferret junk food and shouldn't be fed alone! I know exactly how you feel with worrying about your little guy! We just got a new baby boy (from our neighborhood Petco) and he was so frail and little when he came home! We introduced him to Totally Ferret, and he took right to it and he is bulking up quite nicely. We had planned on adopting from a shelter, but when we went to get ferret food, there he was looking at me like, "Where are you going? Can I come with you? C'mon, don't you wanna take me home?" and we did! Like I said, he was quite frail when we brought him home, but he took right to Totally Ferret and he absolutely loves it now!

Anyway, on with  your question, he might just be stressed out about everything he went through to get to you and he might be stressed about meeting his new siblings and his new home! It is best to check these things out if you aren't confident about it! Always better to be safe than sorry!

If you are worried about partial blockages, now or in the future, I would recommend a course of treatment with something called 'Vetasyl'. It is the pet equivalent to Metamucil and it is a psyllium powder. It will bulk up his, or any other ferret's, poop and hopefully that will catch whatever could be blocking the tract. With the Vetasyl treatment, though, you need to remember that it could actually cause a blockage so if you are feeling hesitant about it, then definitely don't do it.

With the Vetasyl treatment, you should give it at least three days in a row (just once a day). You should take 8 ounces of water and mix in about a teaspoon of Uncle Jim's Duck Soup (http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?familyid=10504&Ntt=Duck%20SOup&OneResultR). You should mix enough water in to make it the consistency of a pretty thin gravy. After you mix that in, you should heat the mixture up just until it is a little warm (not too hot) and then you should mix in the Vetasyl (*****just ONE capsule and don't put the actual capsule in: break the capsule open and pour the powder in and then discard the capsule*****!). There are two important things to remember with this treatment : one is that you need to make sure they drink as much as they can and two : (and this is the most important!!!) they need to have A LOT of water (which is why the "mixture" should be a thin gravy sort of consistency). They need to be drinking a lot of water during this treatment because if they don't, that bulk forming laxative will cause a blockage in their system. You want to give the treatment every day for at least three days and if their poops aren't bigger or at least back to the size they normally are, you should either continue with the treatment or you should see a vet. With this, you should be watching their poops because you may see some pretty amazing things come out. When they use the bathroom, you should pick it up and put it in a plastic bag with water in it and squish away. I know, that sounds utterly disgusting, but you want to make sure that the treatment is doing its job if there is a blockage there. Also, when you are giving the mixture, make sure that you keep stirring it because if you don't, the bulk of the Vetasyl could sink to the bottom and it would be useless. Also, something else to remember with this treatment: only give it if you are going to be around your ferret for the next few days that you give the treatment just in case it does cause a blockage and (s)he needs to be taken to the vet. Otherwise, I wouldn't suggest this treatment for you.

The Vetasyl treatment should be given about once a month to flush out the system and to prevent hairballs. If you're uncomfortable with this treatment, then don't feel like you have to do it! I'm sure you know that a feline hairball preventative is acceptable for ferrets, but (and I'm sure you know, but in case you don't) that stuff is pretty sugary so if you want, Vaseline is acceptable and most ferrets aren't too objecting about taking it, especially if there is a little Ferretone drizzled on it!

I hope this answers your questions, and please keep me updated and let me know how this morning went. Again, I am so sorry that I didn't get this question sooner and I hope you learned something new and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask!


Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Emilee - I just thought I'd tell you that Lucas gained 1oz at his check up,
not too bad for 4 days. What I did for bedding is I went and bought a
package of printer paper and then shredded it with a paper shredder. I then
got a long box and filled it halfway with it. Now all my ferrets dig and sleep
there. I have many places for them to sleep but they seem to prefer this best.
Lucas has also begun to gain muscle. No blockages, thankfully. I do
appreciate your advice for the blockage prevention and have it stored in
case.  I am so happy he is improving. This whole experience has been a
good thing in the perspective that I know a lot more now. I love my babies
and I now have better understanding of caring for them. And I think I have
bonded more than I would have under normal circumstances. Thanks for all
your help and taking time to help so many.

Answer
Hello again Niccole,

I am so glad you could get him in to the vet and I'm glad that everything is okay! I hope that if you ever have any other questions that you'll let me know! I'm here to help and people like you remind me why I do this!

I hope he continues to do well and again, let me know if you ever need anything else!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews