Ate Sugar Free Candy, Vomited, Worry?

Question
I have a 4 month old male ferret. this afternoon I caught him eating a sugar free chocolate covered coconut candy. he was fine eating and drinking normally until just a few minutes ago. he started screaming and shaking and violently vomiting. he vomited about 5 piles of light brown digested food like substance but he was shaking and squealing the whole time. now he is lethargic, sleeping, and just a little on the warm side. I have no idea how toxic the sugar free candy could be to him. should I be worried or do you think the worst has past now that he vomited?

Answer
Thanks so much for the update.  I can take a breath now :-) So glad to hear he is okay! Please give him a hug from me!
jacquie

********Thanks for your help. I live in a very remote area and none of the vets here know anything about ferrets. I contacted the vet that treated him when he was a kit. She said it wasn't a large enough amount of chocolate to worry about and as long as he did not get diarrhea he should be fine. He is my spunky happy healthy little man again terrorizing the cat! I don't know what I would do with out him. Thanks for your help!
*****************
Hi Brooke: Just wondering if your little one is okay. I've been very worried about her. Please update me?

jacquie

*************************
Hi Brooke:

It's not really 'normal' for a ferret to scream and shake violently when vomiting.  Even tho vomiting in itself isn't really "normal" for ferrets, screaming while doing it is even more concerning. I know that chocolate is very seriously toxic for ferrets, just as it is for dogs and cats.  Also, many sugar-free items have chemical sweeteners in them that are basically chemicals - some of them can give full-grown adults diarrhea; I would hate to see what that would do to a tiny ferret.

I'm worried about the chocolate in the candy he ate.  I'm just not sure how much he ate - do you know for sure he only had one small piece? Or did he get into a package of it?

Is there an emergency vet clinic you can call or take your ferret to after hours?  If not, HERE IS A POISON CONTROL CENTER FOR PETS:  1-(888)426-4435. A $60 consultation fee may be applied to your credit card.  I think if it were me, I'd want to call these folks and read the package that the candy came from to them and see what they say as far as toxicity goes.  I *tend* to want to say he will be okay because he vomited, but I do wonder why it took him so long to vomit and I'm concerned about what vital organs may have been damaged while the product was still in his system.  Although I don't want to alarm you unnecessarily, I am very concerned for your ferret's long term health problems.

I am anxious to get this information to you, so I will only add that it would be a good idea to get FLUIDS into your ferret if there is anything he will drink (not sugary) such as maybe some Uncle Jim's Duk Soup Mix (make it really thin) or maybe whatever you feed for "soup" and just thin it down with lots of water and give it to him warm.  Any fluids you can get down him will be a good idea. Even warm water with some ferretone on the top of it to encourage him to sip it would be a good idea.

Other than that, if he's acting strangely at ALL, please please take him to your local emergency vet OR call the poison control center above.  It says they MAY charge $60 - I don't know how they decide, but it's run by the ASPCA, so it is legit.

I'm going to cut this short so I can get the reply to you quickly.  My thoughts and prayers are with your and your little one!  Please let me know what you find out & what chemicals were in the candy?   <<<hugs>>>

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers