Passed Blockage, acting very strange

Question
My 6 month old silvermitt jill over the past week started acting very oddly. She has always been a clutz, but over the past 4 days My wife and I have been noticing that she has not been walking properly. She sort of seemed to be tripping over herself as she walked. She had been eating, pooping and drinking normally (at least up until Thursday morning) so my first reaction was to get online and see what could be wrong. By Friday morning my poor weasel had not gotten up to walk around or even bothered opening her eyes when we let her brother out. I panicked, naturally. I pulled her out to wake her up, put her in her litter box so she could poo, but nothing (unusual). She wasn't comatose, but she was very lethargic. I whipped out the honey and she licked it up, followed by a bit of reverse osmosis water (i wanted any contaminates removed as a factor) which she readily took in. She perked up a bit but was still unable to walk properly. We had her in the vet within about 3 hours. Bloodwork came back as slightly anemic, low proteins and mid-low glucose. The vet stated these could be the starting stages of insulinoma and that we should take her home that night and fast her for a few hours. I fed her some peanut butter off of my finger tip and 3 raisins (the only things i could get her to eat, I tried every imaginable meat) and within minutes she started moving around. Within an hour she pooped out a large amount of rubber strings from one of my childrens balls which we had long since thrown out, 4 pomegranate seeds which we have no clue how she came by, all stuffed in some normal colored poop. I tried to feed her some regular food but she was having none of it still, so after a few hours we gave her another finger tip of peanut butter and 3 more raisins. We took her in Saturday morning to have more bloodwork done and she came back exactly as she should have for having fasted for about 10-12 hours. Immediately following the bloodwork i gave her 2 more raisins and a finger of PB and she started to act normal. We thought we were out of the woods. By Saturday night however she was still walking crooked, falling over (even in the front legs) but she was at least out and about, even if she did tire a little early. She ate her regular food again, and some of the cats higher protein food, and drank a bit of water. I watched her pee twice, but I have yet to see her poop over the course of the day. Now I am thinking the raisins were a bad idea (even if its the only thing we could get down her throat) and I'm very worried. The fact that she is eating normally and trying like heck to play normal makes me want to just say "She's just recovering" but I know the short length of time it takes for a ferret to go from bad to beyond help. Being a weekend now, my only option is emergency vet (which i certainly cannot afford after the last vet bill) but this no pooping thing is freaking me out. Is this normal for a weasel that hasn't eaten much in a day or two? Should i panic and take her to the vet anyway? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I can't take another sleepless night.

Answer
Hi Zach:

Many folks would have lost the battle with that ferret by now. You are an exceptional owner, being well read in insulinoma and blockage symptoms. Lucky little ferret.You've done all the right things.  

I think that since she passed some 'blockage materials', you should assume that she still has some 'junk' inside her. A blockage and/or insulinoma are both life and death issues, so while trying to move the blockage along you should definitely keep watch on her for signs of low blood sugar (loss of balance, spacing out, etc).

You can give her about 1/2 tsp of metamucil in some apple juice (or if it's already  the orange flavored kind, she will probably drink that flavor) The trick is to get it AND as much water down her as possible. The metamucil (or Vetasyl is what I use - one capsule opened into 8 oz of very warm water, and t teaspoonsful of Uncle Jim's Duck Soup Mix (dry powder that will flavor the water so she will drink it).  You can use warm water with Ferretone on it to make her drink also. Mix the Metamucil OR Vetasyl cap contents (toss the capsule itself away) in *whatever* will make her drink at least 4 oz of water.  If the Metamucil or Vetasyl is stirred into the water, keep stirring it occasionally while she drinks so it doesn't settle in the bottom of the bowl. (You could probably even stir a teaspoon of peanut butter into 8 oz of water if she prefers that flavor!)

The important thing is to get some 'bulk' down her to help her pass the rest of what we assume was a really large blockage.....please *assume* she still has some inside her until the vet does a barium xray to prove otherwise. My bet is that she does still have a blockage.  

The other thing you want to watch is her blood glucose level. The easiest is to monitor her activity just as you have been doing.  Any time you give her something sweet, be sure to give her some protein with it (peanut butter with a little honey mixed in it if that's a protein source she will readily eat.  The protein helps keep her blood glucose more even - sugar, syrup, jelly, honey are all sugar, so when they 'wear off', they cause a rapid drop in blood glucose; if she was given protein at the same time, that will help to level it out instead of causing it to drop so drastically when the sugar wears off.

It's important to get some protein into her. Maybe even take a bit of her regular kibble and soak it in warm water with a little peanut butter in it?  Just an idea.  If you can get some Metamucil or Vetasil down her, she *should* pass whatever is left in there. The fiber/bulk will help her have a bowel movement at any rate. Continue to get as much fluid down her as possible; that's also very important. My kids like 1/2 apple juice and 1/2 filtered water to drink when they are sick - helps them drink more. Apple juice does have natural 'sugar' in it, so be sure to get some kind of protein down her when you give it so she doesn't have a sugar spike.

You're doing all the right things.  Do watch that she has protein any time you give her sugar in any form.  I would definitely hold off on the raisins at this time since they really don't digest them or any fruits/vegetables. You don't want to add to the blockage problem she is already fighting.

Keep fluids in her - that's the #1 rule when a ferret is sick.  Monitor her for dehydration....Pinch the skin on the back of her neck up; let go...if it stays 'tented up', she is badly dehydrated and needs subQ fluids from the emergency vet.  Otherwise, just keep fluids in her as much as possible.  Oh, BTW....don't use crunch peanut butter...those little pieces definitely won't digest and will add to the problem too.

Hopefully this blockage will finish moving thru - it makes them very very uncomfortable until it's all passed. It could have been in there for months or even years and finally got large enough that it had to either move or kill her.  There is also a possibility that she has some internal damage from the blockage, but unless she passes blood rectally you may not know about it.  The best thing you can do right now is what you've been doing - try to get fluids down her - try warm, try cool, try a dropper, try a plate with juice on it - anything you can think of. Most likely she will take it *some* way if you continue to try.

Best of luck - please let me know what comes out(literally).  I certainly understand your frustration. My thoughts and prayers are with you and with your little girl.  She CAN make it thru this.  

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers