sick little guy

Question
QUESTION: Hi Jacquie,
 I have a 5 year old sable ferret that has been in great health since I've had him ( since 6 months). Within the last week he has stopped eating or drinking much and seems very lethargic. He also seems to be coughing and sneezing and sleeps with his mouth open like he is congested or something. I took him to the vet on Thursday and they weighed him and he was 1 pound less than 2 months ago!! He also has had mucousy diarrhea. The vet did a barium x-ray and didn't see any blockage. He sent us home with Amoxicillan and pepto-bismol and thinks Tucker has a gastric ulcer. He recommended that we give the little guy baby food or any palatable food to get some calories and nutrition back into him. Does this diagnosis sound correct to you and are there any other things we can try? I desperately want him to get better and I will do anything. Thanks!

ANSWER: Hi Angie:

So sorry to hear about your little sick boy.  They lose weight SO fast when they are sick. It sounds like you definitely need to start handfeeding him and making sure he gets enough fluids. (I use a very small version of what they use to put permanent wave solution on your hair; I think it's a 2oz soft plastic bottle. Be sure to clean well after each use and don't let him bite the tip off of it.)OR you can use a "large feeding syringe" (with no needle, of course) that you can get from your vet.

Your vet should have a prescription food called Hill's A/D Feline (canned).  Scoop out a large tablespoonful into a custard cup, microwave for about 10 seconds (yours may vary) and add enough water so it's the thickness of gravy and very warm but not 'hot' (drip a few drops inside your elbow to see if it feels too hot on your arm before feeding it to him).

Fill the feeding bottle or syringe with warm food and put ferret on your lap. Hold ferret with left hand, feeder with right hand; squeeze out a tiny bit for him to taste. He will make a funny face and maybe even spit it.  When he stops, give him another little taste.  If you need to give him a little sip of cold water, do that, then keep going back to the feeder until he has eaten a MINIMUM of 2-oz of the food and up to 8 oz depending on his size.  He will have to taste it several times, usually, before he decides he likes it and he may even forget he likes it by the time you feed it again for a few times until he gets used to it. Every ferret I've ever seen eventually LOVES Hill's A/D and it has great nutrition for a sick ferret, is gentle on their tummies.

If your vet truly believes your ferret has an ulcer, he doesn't have him on the right 'combination' of medications.  

My recommendation would be to get some Hill's A/D, a big fat feeding syringe, then, if you don't like or trust your vet (or if he's not an 'exotics specialist', get a new vet as soon as possible. Don't be afraid to ask a vet questions. It's important that you understand what your ferret is being treated for. It sounds to me as if your vet may think the ferret has an infection secondary to a cold or flu by what he prescribed.  Until you can get him in to another vet (if you decide to do that), DO keep him on the medications the vet prescribed. Since you say he sounds like he has a cold, it may well take care of that.  I think the Pepto is just for a yucky tummy. If he has an ulcer, he needs several different antibiotics all at the same time along with Pepto and/or Pepcid A/C too.

I really think if you start syringe feeding him, let him take the round of meds as your vet prescribed and see how he is feeling in a few days. I bet he will be stronger and maybe even pick up some weight once you start the feedings. You should be able to get Hill's A/D at any vet office; same with the big fat feeding syringe.  HOWEVER, after a few days, IF he seems to be getting worse, DEFINITELY get him to a different vet. Be sure he gets EVERY dose of medication he is supposed to have though; that's really important.  

From my experience, ferrets really don't like Pepto Bismol at all.  If you are having trouble getting it down your ferret, you can try this instead:  take one Pepcid A/C tablet and dissolve in 5cc of water. Stir each time before use. Give ferret 1/2cc morning and night (twice a day). That should take care of any tummy problems (unless it's an ulcer, of course) like upset tummy or just not having an appetite.  

Feeding him FOUR TIMES A DAY as much as he will eat will also help the tummy problems.  A ferret who doesn't eat can sometimes develop an ulcer, so be sure he gets fed and medicated regularly.


You can check your local phone book for a vet who 'specializes in exotics', or you can call vet offices and ask who in town specializes in ferrets or exotics.  If you can't find one that way, here are some lists of vets that other ferret owners have compiled.  Hopefully you won't need the list, but I'll put it here just in case.

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

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)

VET TO VET HELP: (procedure videos & phone consultations)
* http://www.westendanimal.com   Dr. Deborrah Kemmerer *order medical procedure videos (vets)
* http://www.bradleyhills.com   Dr. Charles Weiss - *does vet to vet telephone consultations for a fee*

Best of luck - get that feeding going as soon as possible. If you can't get to the vet immediately, try baby food (meat only) in a jar, warmed and fed off your finger...but a syringe will be much easier and the Hill's A/D will be better for the long run also.  Baby food is okay for a day or two only. Be sure to keep leftover canned foods refrigerated at all times - don't leave any in the cage as it spoils too quickly and can make him sicker.

I will keep you and your precious little guy in my thoughts and prayers. Please let me know how he does?

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again Jacquie,
 I just have a quick question for you and I hope I hear back soon. I talked to my vet this week about Tucker. I had written to you about him maybe having a gastric ulcer and what-not. I called the vet cause he still has diarrhea and it looks like bird seed. The vet wants to go in and do an exploratory surgery and possibly biopsy on Tuesday. Do you think we should go ahead with this? He is eating a new food I started pretty well and he is drinking okay. He is active and playing a lot. The only other thing that is different is that he has been digging in his cage a lot and chewing the bars all the time.  
 I hope to hear from you soon so I can make a decision. They can do the surgery Tuesday if I decide to.
 Thanks so much!
 Angie

Answer
Hi Angie & Tucker:

So sorry to hear he's still feeling bad.  Birdseed-looking poops mean that he is not digesting his food properly. If you have been feeding Hill's A/D soup, he's one sick little guy. If you changed his food to something else, it's possible that it is just from too much stress on his tummy from changing foods. Hills A/D is very very easily digested, so it *should* digest well even on a bad tummy.  I would repeat my first recommendation that you get him on
A/D soup(see my first reply for instructions on how to make the soup).

IF he's been on Hill's A/D soup and is still having birdseed poops, there is something wrong with his tummy. It could be something in there causing an irritation (a partial blockage), gastritis or irritable bowel syndrome from food changes to foods that aren't necessarily easily to digest like Hill's A/D would be, or a myriad of things that can cause stomach irritation or inflammation.

Has your vet taken an xray of Tucker's stomach?  A barium swallow xray? That would definitively show if he has an ulcer and it would also show any partial blockage material present. The vet will mix the barium in Hill's A/D to get it down him; often the barium/A-D mixture will move a partial blockage right out of the stomach/intestine. At any rate, it shows a LOT and should definitely be done if the vet isn't sure what is going on in Tucker's stomach.

Whether or not to go to surgery?  I can't tell you that. What I can tell you are the things you need to consider before you send him to surgery.

1. Have you exhausted diagnostic procedures that could possibly diagnose the problem short of cutting him open? (xray, barium xray, ultrasound, a simple one-drop helicobactor blood test to detect ulcer)

2. How often does your vet do surgery on ferrets; if he doesn't do at least one a week, I'd get a second opinion from the list I gave you last time of vets with ferret experience.

3.  Remember that once Tucker's intestinal tract has been opened, he WILL form scar tissue INSIDE IT and you will forever have to be even more careful of blockages in the future - the scar tissue tends to collect hairballs.

4.  The toll on Tucker of a major surgery; AND of course the cost in both dollars and your time nursing Tucker back to health.

If your vet strongly believes Tucker has a blockage, he definitely needs to be opened up - but IF he suspects that, I doubt he would have you wait till next Tuesday.Blockage surgeries are usually emergencies (which is why I am suspect of taking him to surgery).

If his main concern is NOT a blockage, have you given him the proper medications for at least a month to treat ulcers?  (a broad spectrum antibiotic, flagyl, Pepcid A/C and being fed only A/D soup for a month AT THE SAME TIME while taking the ulcer medications as I mentioned in my previous reply)

If Tucker has an ulcer, opening him up will cause more problems than just treating the ulcer.  IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE THE TREATMENT I RECOMMENDED LAST TIME YOU WROTE - both the Hill's A/D AND the medications, you really need to give it a shot, along with proper ulcer medications to clear up any infection (an ulcer is actually an infection in the stomach).

Ultimately the decision is yours - never forget that. I am all for surgery when surgery is necessary.  What you didn't tell me in your note, however, is whether you have done the food/medications treatment or not.  If you haven't, I still stand by recommending you try that first. Surgery should be a last resort.  Hill's A/D soup can literally change a sick ferret's life if it has irritable bowel problems. At any rate, Tucker will be better prepared for his surgery physically if you feed him A/D soup between now and then. You will probably have to feed him A/D 4 times a day after the surgery anyway, so best to get started and give him the benefit of the doubt.  I have hand fed several ferrets for years at a time and a change to Hill's A/D soup can be lifechanging for a ferret UNLESS he has a blockage in his bowel or stomach that is causing the problem.

What is your vet telling you he suspects to find inside Tucker?  Hopefully he has some reason to think surgery is necessary.  Unless surgery is an emergency, IMHO I'd at LEAST get a second opinion.  If it's not an emergency surgery, you can cancel Tuesday with a simple phone call telling them you will have to re-schedule at another time; then getting him to another vet for a second opinion. Whichever vet you believe is better trained with ferrets (watch closely how they handle the ferret; do they give him kisses and cuddle him while they examine him or are they cold and touch him only on the exam table?  That one thing will tell you a LOT. A vet who is comfortable with ferrets will always hold & pet them while they talk to you after they have finished the exam....or at least will automatically try - unless the ferret pulls really strongly towards you, of course.  Stand back and watch what the vet does - that will answer your question of who is best with him. I took my kids to one vet that ONLY scruffed the ferret while examining him, then told me to 'grab him' when he was finished; needless to say, we hit the door!) Don't EVER be afraid to ask a vet how many ferret surgeries they do have done or how frequently they do surgeries on a ferret - you DON'T want Tucker to be the one they learn on, trust me on that one.

We still have time to exchange information a few times before Tuesday...I will be here all weekend.  Let me know what you have done already for Tucker and I will have a better idea if there are other things you need to do before he goes to surgery. Also, WHAT does your vet say he expects to see in the surgery?

Waiting & hoping you'll stay in touch for Tucker's sake....

Jacquie Rodgers