Ferret Diarrhea

Question
I adopted two ferrets from the shelter recently - Saturday morning. I have then in a huge cage and they are finally learning how to climb up the ramps and tubes to get up higher since they didn't have those at the shelter:)  I also went and bought them tons of toys because they didn't seem to know how to play), and they love the little feathers on the topple toys which they bowl over.  They are very friendly and already litter box trained, thankfully! However, they are having Diarrhea since I changed their food. I have no clue what they were feeding them at the shelter and no one at the shelter was knowledgeable about ferrets at all. I presume it was regular cat food which is bad for them anyway. I have them on Innova EVO and Wellness CORE, as well as a few chunks of Wysong on top. I plan on eventually finding a third staple food to add, but am holding off until this Diarrhea stops. I have given them each some Ferretone(drops at a time) because I had to trim their toenails and to encourage them to use a water bottle(they also have a bowl, but it isn't large enough to stay filled all day. I refill it about 3 times a day)They are otherwise healthy as far as I know, and I watch/hear them eat and drink like clockwork, so I don't think they are getting dehydrated. However, Gilligan who is whitish in color, is constantly getting the poop all over him when he reenters the litter box and we both obviously don't like the fact that I am constantly wiping him off:) Gilligan's poop is very runny and Lola's is formed like poop but very soft.  It is a medium to dark brown color.  And they make a fart-like sound when then go, especially Gilligan.

So this is my question. I have seen online suggestions of withholding food for 24 hours and then giving pedialyte or gatorade only. After 24 hours you introduce Gerber Baby Food Chicken flavor to soothe their stomachs and then can reintroduce their food after 48 hours. Should I try this now or wait? If I should wait, how much longer? Has anyone had any success with this?

Their vet appointment is for Wednesday. The ferret vets were both out of the office for the weekend and Wed. morning is the earliest morning date they had available. I have also seen suggestions of medications, but I do not want to medicate them without seeing a vet first because I don't know their exact age(somewhere between 4mos or 1 yr if they shelter was correct) and how much they weigh, etc.

Thanks for any help!


Answer
Hi Sara:

Congratulations on your new family!  Wow, are they lucky little fuzzies to have gotten a wonderful mommy like you!

First, let me address the withholding of food question, because for a ferret that is the biggest problem you're facing.  For ferrets, 48-hours is an eternity - definitely long enough to cause serious health problems. Please don't ever withhold food and/or fluids from ferrets for more than 6 hours (even presurgerically).  Ferrets have a very fast digestive tract and food is usually completely processed in 3 to 6 hours. From that time on, you would only be sustaining the ferret on fluids and sugars....a serious problem for ferrets.

Ferrets are very prone to having problems processing sugars; this often takes the form of insulinoma, tumors on the pancreas. Since ferrets are "obligate carnivores", MEAT and meat byproducts are the ONLY thing a ferret's system recognizes as food. A fast of any kind for a ferret could upset sensitive blood sugar balances and cause more problems than you want to deal with..so please, don't withhold food.

It is normal for ferrets to have diarrhea, not only when their food is changed, but also when they experience emotional upsets of any kind, even good ones like getting a great new home!  It usually takes 3 days or so for them to settle down and understand that this is 'home' and they can relax.  It's great that they ARE eating; many ferrets stop eating because of the emotional upset. Sounds like they are happy with their new digs! (as well they should be from the sound of it!)

If you want to give them some warmed turkey and/or chicken babyfood MEAT ONLY, you can certainly do that. Ferrets often won't recognize something they have not had before as 'food', so the fact that they are eating is miraculous, actually.  Giving them something different *may* further upset their digestive systems - if it were me, I would continue to feed regular kibble and give some warm "soup" once a day at bedtime so everyone goes to sleep with a full, warm tummy.

"Soup" can be warmed baby food meat or (better yet) pick up some Hill's A/D Feline, canned at your vet's office on Wednesday.  Warm several tablesppons of it and stir in enough water to make it gravy-consistency...rewarm if you have to because you want to serve it nice and warm. If they don't chow down immediately, you can introduce them to it by putting your finger in it, then into their mouths until they get a good taste. Once they get used to it (just a time or two) they will LOVE it; it's reeeally good for them; AND you will have a simple 'soup' to put them on anytime they are not feeling well, post-surgical, or elderly. It's good to get them used to this early on so they are familiar with it when it's really needed most. For the money and ease of use, Hill's A/D feline canned food is the *best* overall 'soup' you will find - although you will find recipes galore online, many contain some form of sugar, which is especially a 'no-no'.

The best thing you can do until Wednesday....is nothing except enjoy them, play with them, talk to them a lot, give them love & hugs and more love and hugs :-)...the sooner they relax and their tummies adapt to their proper food (yes, YOU are right; cat food is horrible for ferrets!), their systems will settle down and the diarrhea *should* resolve itself.  

IF you have some acidophillus capsules with live bacteria, you can add some to their 'soup' (or baby food meat); that his the only thing I would do as far as diarrhea treatment until you see the vet. It's hard to say what they've had to eat or what circumstances they may have come from, so it's good to get some healthy bacteria into their digestive systems. One capsule in a bowl of 'soup' is fine - the dosage isn't vital here, as any extra good bacterial will just be passed thru - just open an acidophillus capsule, (Bio-Flor is the brand I use) whatever brand you have, and put the contents of the capsule in the soup; discard the capsule itself. If it's a tablet, squish the tablet between two spoons and put the powder into the soup.  One cap is good for the whole batch of soup. It would be good to give it for at least 3 days to establish healthy flora in their bowels. Other than that, let time take its time for them to adapt to their new home and their little systems to settle down - there really isn't a way to shorten that time. It definitely sounds like Lola and Gilligan both need the acidophillus treatment. It won't any time, actually, and is a good first line of defense for diarrhea problems.

I had one ferret who had irritable bowel syndrome - she had persistent diarrhea almost all the time. Our daily routine included me washing her little butt at least 4 to 6 times in a day (and this isn't unusual for elderly ferrets). Gilligan no doubt appreciates your efforts, in addition to it being healthier than him spreading his loveliness everywhere.  The only suggestion I have here is to use very warm water - a ferret's body temperature is about 103 degrees; like when you have a high fever, so keep the water warm for his comfort, k?  You'll be surprised the nurturing relationship the bottom washing will help to form between the two of you!  It's a great way to show him that you will 'take care' of him and he is probably eating it up..so keep the water warm, use a little liquid soap or baby shampoo, dry with a few paper towels, and let it be a time for bonding.  Especially since your kids have not had stool cultures done yet - WASH YOUR HANDS well with soap afterwards. There is actually the possibility that IF they have an intestinal parasite that you or your family can catch it - so do use good hygiene practices.

It really sounds like things are just fine as they are at your house.  If you just concentrate of giving them love, this is a wonderful time to build trust and let them know they are finally *home*.  The best thing they can do right now is to relax and enjoy!  That and some good food will help their little tummies settle down quickest and hopefully they will soon forget they ever lived anywhere but *home* :-)

When you get to the vet's on Wednesday, IF anyone still has diarrhea (and that should be about a perfect amount of time to know), be SURE the vet knows this. He may want to take stool samples from each of the kids and make sure they are free of intestinal parasites (giarrdia, coccidia, etc).  They should be over the squirts by then.  Some ferrets always have gas; unfortunately usually another symptom of their rocky past and chronic intestinal upsets from home changes/food changes/insecurity, etc. Gilligan *may* have irritable bowel syndrome if he has no parasites and continues to have diarrhea and gas. Usually a change in diet will help - the a/d soup, again is excellent for IBD.  I fed my little IBD girl warm soup four times a day for years (she was a rescue also) and never knew her to have normal poops, but nothing ever showed in her stool cultures.

All in all, it sounds to me as if a wonderful thing has happened. No doubt your little fuzzies feel like they've died and gone to the heaven with all the love and care they suddenly have!  Please, keep up the good work.  Ferrets are definitely a pet who reflect exactly the amount of love and work you put into them!  The more YOU give, the more THEY will give in return.  It's a wonderful life - enjoy!!  

Give them an extra hug from me? They are lucky kids and life has just begun for them!

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers