baby sniffles

Question
Just got a baby to add to our family just recently lost our seven year old to a adrenal disease :(
This will be our fourth ferret, two now with us.  Lilly is 2 months old, we got her four days ago healthy, eating, playing, and adjusting very well.  Started sneezing and sounding like a runny nose.  Has a vet appt on Sat.  Will keep close eye on and probably get the Marshall Upper Rx treatment until Sat.  Wondering if you had any suggestions for tonight?  Can I dillute Vicks with water and put a dab under her nose?  

Curious,

Tom C.

Answer
Hi Tom:

It sounds like your baby has a touch of the "flu" ("they" - the experts -  say that ferrets don't get "colds", but mine certainly do!).  Basically VetRx is camphor (Vicks), so yes, you *could* dab the teeniest bit on her nose, so I usually don't use it. You have some other choices that are far superior and don't run the risk of being rubbed into the ferret's eyes like VetRx sometimes does.  

For a ferret to get well quickly, the best thing to do is to treat it exactly as you would a small child with a cold.   1...Drink extra fluids, 2....get extra rest and a 3....few extra blankies (yes, they will run a bit of a fever, so the heavier blankies may feel better now).   

MEDICATIONS:  For congestion, you can give Lilly some Children's Benadryl 1-cc per pound of body weight every six to eight hours. Also, they have these neat "plug in mini-vaporizer" (like a room freshener) gadgets you just plug into the wall now - stick one into the wall next to her cage and it will open everybody's noses! ;-)   If Lilly is coughing a lot, you can give 1-cc of Sudafed Children's Cough Syrup (only). I would give cough medicine OR benadryl.....NOT BOTH.  I have found that Benadryl works best for my kids. It makes them a little sleepy, but they rest up and within about 24 hours they are feeling better as long as I wake them often and get fluids into them (at least every six hours).  

IMPORTANT (**LIFE & DEATH IMPORTANT**): Make sure there is NO acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, tylenol or similar in the children's cough syrup you get - COUGH SUPPRESSANT ONLY)  NEVER give a ferret tylenol, aspirin, ibuprofen or over-the-counter medications that contain these ingredients - they are all deady to ferrets.   

SECRETS TO GETTING FLUIDS INTO A FERRET: You can make "ferret juice" by diluting apple, grape, cranberry, even prune juice (my kids LOVE prune juice!)  Do keep the juices diluted well (at least half water and half juice....more water if they will accept it) because you don't want them to get too much sugar. Even though it is 'natural sugar' from fruit, it is still sugar and not good for ferrets.  Do NOT, however, give citrus juices of any kind - they are not good for ferret tummies.  Some kids like their juice cold, some (especially if they have a fever) like it warm, some like it with just a few drops of Ferretone on the top (they will drink the whole dish of juice trying to get the Ferretone :-)  Warm juice with a few drops of Ferretone will get even the sickest ferret's attention.  Pedialyte (available in the baby food aisle at the grocery store) is also good for sick ferrets and they seem to like it. My kids like grape and bubblegum flavors best, if that's of any help to you. Once opened, it only lasts about four days, so what I do is buy the Pedialyte popsicles, which are little plastic packets of Pedialyte (you are supposed to freeze them, but I don't). I use them as smaller serving sizes than opening a big ole bottle of Pedialyte. I can open one and keep 11 others in the cabinet for future use. They travel well too, BTW. My ferrets like Pedialyte cool AND warm, just depends on what mood they are in. If they have a lot of diarrhea, Pedialyte does help get their electrolytes back into balance. The more dehydrated the ferret, the more important that you use Pedialyte (use 1/2 Pedialyte and 1/2 water).

Another thing you can use to get fluids down them (this is what I keep on hand) is Uncle Jim's Duk Soup Mix (powdered mix in a jar). To get fluids in them, I mix two level teaspoons of Uncle Jims with 6-oz very warm water.  My large male ferret will eat all six ounces! (This is how he gets his "Vetasyl" hairball remedy administered every few weeks, so he's used to it).  Sometimes if she's not interested in juice, try the soup mix or vice-versa - certain things taste good to them at times and not at other times, just as it is with us when we don't feel well.

I would think that your little girl *should* feel better in a couple of days. She will probably run a low grade fever for a day or two - keep a few extra blankies in the cage for her to snuggle in. Like us, when feverish, it makes you feel like you can't get warm enough.  She will probably have loose stools too.  She *should* continue to eat even tho she isn't feeling well.  Do watch, however, to be sure she is eating. Again, fluids are what we are *more* worried about right now, and if you're using Uncle Jim's Duk Soup Mix, you can even put in a few more teaspoonsful of mix for extra energy if she doesn't seem interested in her food.  As young as she is, she should breeze through this - if she doesn't, you will need to get her to the vet.

IT WOULD BE AN EMERGENCY **IF**: She starts gasping for breath, is extremely weak or you are unable to waken her (highly unlikely), or if she begins vomiting.  (In other words, she is probably going to be just fine, so this is just to reassure you there are very rarely complications to colds in ferrets)

I'm guessing - and HOPING - that she will be feeling all better by the time that appointment time comes around.  You're a good dad thinking ahead and having the appointment just in case she needs it though. I definitely wouldn't cancel it until the last minute just in case she does need it.  There are times when they *can* get a secondary infection (listen to her breathing by holding her chest up to your ear) that would need antibiotics, but again that would not be very common.

Sure hope she gets feeling all better real soon.  

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers