Possible Partial Blockage Case

Question
So, my ferret is just about 13-14 weeks old. I've had him since he was a tiny
ball of fur (7-8 weeks). Recently he's taken a liking to material. I have two
other ferrets, my oldest is 7 and I have never experienced a ferret with this
unusual taste for cloth (although I have heard of it before). I believed my
house to be meticulously ferret-proofed until I woke up to him chomping
down on a sock (this is the first time I realized he liked cloth). He chewed up
some of the of the top half of the sock, the part with a bit of tiny rubber
threads in it. Immediately, I gave him some ferretlax, and he passed the sock
material. He has no vomiting, no legarthy, playing normally,eating normally
and it has been about two days. I'm worried that he hasn't passed all of what
he ate.  His stools appear normal, they are not black or tarry, and are not
"pencil-lead" thin, but I think* they might be slightly smaller than before all
of this happened, although they are of a normal consistency. I'm taking him
to the vet tommorrow, to be on the safe side. I guess what my question is, is
it still possible he may have a partial blockage somewhere with none of the
usual symptoms like vomiting, legarthy, weight loss, lack of appetite etc.?

Answer
Hi Emilia:

Yes, it certainly is possible that he could have some sock (or even fur) lodged somewhere in his intestines.  I gave my ferrets ferretlax for years, but have stopped giving it altogether for about six months now, as it just doesn't work as advertised.

I have a ferret who had a hairball and had surgery for it last year. I have had this ferret since he was a tiny kit and, like you, my house is very very ferretproofed, neat and tidy, and I watch the kids closely when they are out to play.  He started having skinny poops and I was ready to take him to the vet...but a friend of mine has cats and asked why don't I try a product called "Vetasyl".  

Vetasyl is a bulk agent, a safe product that absorbs liquids as it travels thru the digestive system and works like Metamucil works for people.  I gave him the CONTENTS OF ONE VETASYL CAPSULE (toss the cap itself away) blended into 8-OZ OF VERY WARM WATER and TWO LEVEL TEASPOONS of Uncle Jim's Duk Soup Mix (by Marshalls and available at pet stores or online pet supply stores).  I let him eat all he wanted...and he ate all 8 oz of it!

I repeated this and fed him 'lax soup' ONCE A DAY FOR THREE DAYS IN A ROW.  The first two days he passed a few small hairballs here and there, not enough to explain the tiny poops I had been seeing.  On the third day I gave the lax, he passed a hairball the size and shape of my little finger!!  It had some green pus on one end of it, so no doubt he was very very close to having a very very serious problem - but it was averted!  

Since then, I have been giving the 'soup lax' treatment about once every two weeks. I make up the soup at bedtime and he goes to bed with a tummy full of warm soup.  By morning when I check the litterbox, I often find little hairballs that he has passed.  The first time, for the initial 'clean-out', give it for three days in a row to be sure everything is out, but subsequent treatments can be just once every couple of weeks.  

My large male ferret eats the whole 8 oz of soup. Smaller ferrets may eat less. The secret is eating it with enough fluids so that it can swell up in the intestines and move whatever it finds in its path out.  You can get your ferret familiar with Uncle Jim's Duk Soup - it's a treat to my kids - they LOVE it!  Initially you may have to dip your finger in it, then into their mouth until they develop a taste for it and eat it readily.

One thing you need to also be aware of - if you use Yesterday's News (pelleted newspaper litter), a ferret who eats fabric MAY also eat pelleted newspaper litter, so do keep an eye out for that. If she does eat it, change over to a clay litter, but NOT a clumping litter.  That's the only thing my fabric eating ferret wouldn't eat.

Best of luck - I think you will be shocked when you see what's in the litterbox the first three nights that you give the Vetasyl treatment!  Hopefully she will eat at least half of the 8-oz...try to get her to eat as much as possible; the more she eats, the better it can clean her out.

Here is one website where you can find Vetasyl (and there are many other places, of course):  http://www.vetmeddeals.com/vetasyl-fiber-caps-500mg-100ct-p-1486.html  

Best of luck - it's a great thing that you are being so very conscientious about your little one and what she eats. You'd be surprised at the folks whose ferrets eat whole hammocks and they aren't concerned.  You're a good ferret mommy!

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers