sneezing

Question
Hi my ferret Megan, has been constantly sneezing since Friday afternoon, and it is now Sunday evening, and she is still doing it, Friday I gave her fresh water, and she got a drink, and it sounded like she coughed, and now she has been sneezing every since, I thought the water went down the wrong hole, but now I am unsure. She is a year and five months old, and she eats Marshall's ferret food, and her stool looks normal, and I use critter care bedding  (it's hypoallergenic).

Answer
Hi April,

I am so sorry that Megan is not feeling well. When a ferret sneezes, it is usually no big deal. With their noses being so close to the ground, they often inhale dust and other particles that make them sneeze. With prolonged sneezing, there isn't a huge cause for worry, especially if your Megan is a younger girl.

Try putting your ear up to Megan's chest. Usually you can hear if her lungs sound kind of gunky. If she has this combined with sneezing, coughing, a fever and nasal discharge, she could have a respiratory infection and should be checked by a vet. If she is not exhibiting any other signs except sneezing, than she may just have a little cold or the flu. Ferrets are susceptible to colds and the flu, just like humans. It usually doesn't hurt a younger ferret, like Megan. You may just see a little bit of lethargy, just like we would be if we had the flu. She should get over it in a few days. Just keep watching her to make sure she is getting better. If she doesn't stop and you notice any change in her stool, behavior or if she starts showing any of the symptoms I described above, than I would get her to the vet as soon as you can to be checked out.

Like I said, ferrets get into everything. Many things could cause her to be sneezing all the time. If she got into something dusty, if you changed the detergent you wash her bedding with, if you got a new perfume, a new deodorizer in the house, etc. Many different things could cause sneezing.

If she is coughing, it is possible that she ate her food too fast and has a little piece of it stuck in her throat. Often, they can dislodge things like this by themselves, but you could try giving her ferret or feline laxative (hairball remedy) to help the food go down. Also, if you suspect she is choking on the food, you can put her in your lap, elevate her front paws just a little and pat her between the shoulders. This could also dislodge the stuck food.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions or you need anything else!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews


P.S.

Just a little tidbit I like to tell people when they write in and tell me that they are feeding Marshall Ferret food: Marshall's is not the best food for your ferret at all! It has high amounts of corn product in it which is not good for ferrets. They can't digest fruits, vegetables or sugars, so having corn products fed to them on a daily basis can cause complications later on. It is good practice to mix a few high quality ferret foods together, as well, to guard against a situation where the picky ferret won't eat his new food because his old stuff went off the market.

Here is a good food chart I like to give people :

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


As you can see, there are quite a few foods out there that are better for the ferret than Marshall's. If you decide to switch (which I'm not saying you HAVE to and I don't mean to be rude), the change should be gradual and you should start off with just a little bit of new food and mostly old food (say 85% old, 15% new), and then the next week up the new food while lowering the old food and so on. That way, the finicky ferret won't put up too much of a fight!


Again, I hope I helped.