Ferret had diarrhea on and off for 2 weeks

Question
I took her to the vet on Thursday and get results tomorrow. She is going to be be 9 months on the 16th and I have her on her 4th food. I know its not good to switch especially when young but she was on Marshall's then wellness kitten health which didn't have enough protein for her then i switched to Taste of the wild holistic all life stages cat food. now for a week and a half i have had her on The ferret store superior choice original and i plan to keep her on it for the rest of her life. I switched it to her 1-9 parts over a 2 week span and she did not do good while switching at all. plus my parents have been playing AC games turning it on and off(finally they stopped) and i think that had a lot to do with it possibly. Her poop has been very varied. watery, grainy, sometimes normal. Sometimes mucous like. I told the vet I was concerned about IBD and ECE but when they gave me the discharge paper it doesn't say anything about them testing for either of these. They are testing for Helicobacter, Salmonella, Camphylobactor, coccidia, giardia. what had prompted me to call the vet was one of her diarrheas had a very tiny bit of fresh blood in it and that upset me a lot because i know that can be bad. My other ferret is perfectly fine. I have been my sick one Nupro supplement (All natural version of duk soup) mixed with pediatric electrolytes and water. It seems to be helping her but she looks so miserable sometimes. and doesn't seem to be drinking enough. Have any of your ferrets had any similar problems and what have you done and what was the treatment? Thank you

Answer
Hi Jessica:

So sorry to hear you're having problems. Ferrets and eating problems just seem to go together!  It will settle down eventually; really it will.

The most important thing to remember with feeding ferrets is that they are carnivores - don't fall for the brightly colored fruits in some of the packages; ferrets don't eat fruit! Read the labels - should ALWAYS be chicken in the FIRST FIVE INGREDIENTS and you won't go wrong.  As far as temperature is concerned, she just needs to be SURE she is NOT IN THE SUN and ambient temperature is NOT ABOVE 82-degrees. Ferrets cannot pant; if you see a ferret panting, that ferret is dying. If you are concerned it may not be cool enough for your ferret, you can wet sheets - SOAK THEM, then drape over the ferret cage - and keep the bottom edges of the sheet in bowls of water so the water will "wick" up the sides of the cage via the sheet. Then put ua fan in the room (not directly on the ferret cage, but enough to keep air moving).  This COMBINATION OF MOVING AIR and WATER EVAPORATING causes COOLING.  Fans DO NOT COOL....but when you add moisture, it's the evaporation that takes place that causes cooling (trust me, I live in the desert :-)  Your ferret will be comfortable inside a cage draped with wet sheets (use clothespins to hold in place at the top) and a fan nearby.  Always remember: "WET PLUS MOVING AIR EQUALS COOL"

In regards to the tests your vet is running - looks to me as if he's right on track. There is no *test* for ECE...believe me, once you see ECE, you will NEVER confuse it with anything else. It is bright green explosive..liquid (I mean wiping the walls down NEON green!) and if your ferret had this, you wouldn't have to test for it.  Don't confuse this is short bouts of greenish tinted diarrhea for a day or two - that is typical of any kind of upset or change in environment; even if YOU are upset about something she might pick it up and have a bit of greenish poops for you.   

Irritable bowel syndrome is usually what a ferret can be left with as the RESULT of any of the other tests your vet IS testing for. There is no test for IBD. In other words, if your ferret has any of the dangerous parasites: Helicobacter, Salmonella, Camphylobactor, coccidia, or giardia, she MUST be treated for those. One any parasitic problems are treated (or the potential eliminated), IF she still has persistent intermittent diarrhea episodes with birdseedlike, mucousy or otherwise abnormal poops, it will be labeled as having "IBD" which stands only for "Irritable Bowel Disorder" or IBS "Irritable Bowel Syndrome" (syndrome is usually a syndrome if the problem IS food related and the owner continues to feed the offending food. HOPEFULLY we will be able to get around that once your vet has eliminated the more dangerous problems; mucous in bowel movements ALWAYS indicates there is something causing an irritation inside the intenstinal walls; the birdseedlike poops are seen when food is not being digested properly (**VERY IMPORTANT: when you see those, it also means she is not getting enough nutrition**)  SO, you will need to watch the litterbox as you feed various foods - some you may notice cause the birdseed poops - eliminate those foods (I mean to the trash can, once you're sure which ones, cuz they will only irritate her little intestines and cause more pain and no good nutrition will come from it); IF you can - in any of the foods you've tried - remember ANY that didn't cause weird poops, I would check THAT list against the food list below. In the list below, the higher the number on the chart a food is, the better the food is.  

You mentioned about changing foods a lot; I think as long as you made the changes gradually, not Food A one day and Food B the next day, *probably* no real harm done. I believe the more variety of tastes the little ones are exposed to, the less picky they will be in later years (and yes, it holds true too, at least with mine it has).

Many things can trigger a one or two episodes of diarrhea. Something as simple as kids running thru the house playing and screaming louder than they are used to; company (even if they were safe in their cage); all kinds of things. Ferrets are pretty emotionally sensitive and it shows up really quickly in their poops. Like you said - the most important thing to watch for is that they are getting enough fluids any time when you see liquidy poops.

I had one ferret who had IBD (irritable bowel disorder) and she was terribly sensitive to a LOT of foods! I think I tried her on everything and finally, the last year or so of her life I settled on Hill's I/D Feline Prescription Diet (canned food). It's like A/D except less fat content. For years I used Hill's A/D warmed and enough water added to make a nice gravy for their bedtime snack. A/D is specially formulated - carnivore diet, easy-to-digest, special ingredients to help it be gentle on their tummy and intestines. It will tend to give them loose stools when I give it to them tho.  So, I do put enough water when making the 'gravy' that it makes up for any excess they lose. A/D is GREAT for tender tummies if your little one is delicate and skinny; Hill's I/D is excellent if your little one is NOT skinny - it's just a great quick soup. A tablespoon or so with enough water to make a thick gravy for them to lick.

They ALL hate 'soup' in the beginning, but the trick is to keep him on it - keep offering it at regular intervals and eventually they WILL accept it. Touch your finger into the bowl, then on the ferret's nose or even inside the lip or tongue to make sure they get a good taste each and every time it is offered. My one ferret even used to gag to try to tell me he didn't want it. Now he stands at the cabinet and scratches at the cabinet door when it's 'soup' time and I'm a minute late! LOL

You are obviously really interested in feeding your kids the *BEST* nutrition, so I will include the BEST link for choosing foods for ferrets. One other thing I will add - I only have ONE ferret at this time, but he still eats a MIXTURE OF THREE DIFFERENT FOODS. Reason: Just in case that "one" manufacturer changes the recipe (yes, it happens!), your kids will still eat. They can handle one of the three foods changed at a time. SO, I would recommend choosing THREE foods of your choice from this list in addition to the HIll's A/D and/or I/D for soup:

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

Best of luck to you and your little one - you're definitely on the right track - keep up the good work and don't hesitate to come back anytime! It's so refreshing to have owners who are trying so hard to do everything they can to give their kids the very best life possible! Your little girl is in good hands and I think your vet is going to guide you in the right direction if you stick with him.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers