ferret just hasnt gotten back to old self.

Question
my beloved ferret, cheese, just hasn't improved much. i had bought a 2 month old ferret, of whom i named mac, about a month and a half ago we got him from PetCo and he had all his shot to date. I only had him 2 days and cheese did not like him at all. mac was very rambunctious and cheese is not so we had taken mac back to Petco before we got too attached to him. Cheese is usually laid back but the way he has been acting for the last month or so is not him at all. He had become so lethargic that he wouldnt even pick his head up. he wasnt pooping, eating,or moving. We thought he had ece due to the stress of the new ferret as the ferret had bitten  him and just generally upset him. I force fed him baby chicken food and duck soup and he quickly began eating his dry on his own again and began getting better but over the last week or so he stopped eating his food all together has lost weight,his poop is very much like diarrhea and he hasn't played since the beginning of this whole ordeal.he has been lethargic but still kind of roams when you allow him out but does so very slowly and seems to tire quickly.    Cheese is 4 years old and has been on the same food for years... I love my cheeser so very much and would do anything for him. please help me.

Answer
Hi Ashley:

I'm so sorry that Cheese isn't feeling well. At four years old, his symptoms could actually be from about half a dozen different things that would be impossible to diagnose without him being seen by a vet and having some disgnostic tests run.

The first tests should probably be a full blood panel to see if all his internal organs are working okay. He could be having liver or kidney failure that we just can't see from the outside, but a blood test would reveal it right away.

Another thing I would be concerned about is the possibility he has an insulinoma. This is a tumor on the pancreas that would cause him to have low blood sugar and would definitely cause low energy and general malaise. To determine if he has insulinoma, you would need to have a blood sugar level test done.

A partial intestinal blockage would also cause a slow deterioration, loss of weight and energy and generally sick all over. This would be diagnosed with a barium xray.

I believe all the above are possibilities for Cheese and unfortunately to just 'guess' wouldn't do Cheese a favor. The very very best thing that could happen right now is to enlist the help of a good ferret-knowledgeable vet who can eliminate the possibilities until a solution is found. Some of the diagnoses are cured or treated with simple adjustments of food or supplemental feedings; a blockage cure can range anywhere from a good lax (use Vetasyl & Uncle Jim's Duk Soup Mix as described in many articles here on this website if your vet says Cheese has a partial blockage that is likely to be moved with a lax) to a surgical removal of the blockage.

In case you don't have a ferret-knowledgeable vet (always ask specifically OR check these lists to see if your vet is listed)..here are some lists of experienced ferret vets submitted by other ferret owners:

VETS CANADA:   
* http://www.ferretrescue.ca/start.php
* http://tinylink.com/?TlVyYKa6e0
* http://www.ferrets.org/Veterinarian_Listings.htm   (British Columbia)
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html
* http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/sask_ferrets/

VETS USA:
* http://www.quincyweb.net/quincy/vet.html
* http://ferrethealth.org/vets/
* http://www.ferret-universe.com/vets/vetlist.asp
* http://www.ferretsanctuary.com/vets.shtml
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html
* http://ferrethealth.org/vets/

VETS  UK & IRELAND:  
* http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ferreter/vetlist.htm

VET INFO/ LIST OF FERRET GROUPS/ CONTACTS IN UK, ITALY, NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA, NETHERLANDS, GERMANY & DENMARK:       
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-overseas.html (scroll down page to find the one you are looking for)

With ferrets, it is IMPERATIVE that you don't wait - ferrets can go from just not feeling well to dead in a very short time. It sounds like Cheese has already been sick too long without seeing a vet. Please do get him to a good ferret vet at least within the next couple days. In the meantime, you should supplement his dry kibble with WARM duck soup, Hill's A/D "soup" or baby food meat with plenty fluids (or even Pedialyte) added to help keep him from deteriorating any further until he can get some tests done.

Best of luck to your little guy - my thoughts and prayers are with you and with him.