Wobbly back legs, weak eating habits

Question
My male got super sick within the span of a week about 2 months ago. He was pretty much on death's door. After some tests, the vet said he had some sort of intestinal infection so he got anti-biotics for a period of time and got his own cage since he couldn't climb too well due to the extreme weight loss and dehydration. Well ever since his back legs have been super wobbly. It doesn't help that he started refusing food/water in his hospital cage. I had to put him back in his regular cage so at least he is drinking water again although I'm not 100% sure if he is eating his kibble. He eats duk soup readily enough but his eating/drinking appear "weak." He's not chowing down like he normally would. If he is eating kibble he will take one piece off to the side and slowly eat it. If he is drinking water (bottle), he kind of presses his lips against it and slowly licks it. I'm calling the vet today to ask some questions but was wondering if wobbly back legs was common after being as sick as he was. What else can I do to help him??

I'm guessing he is about 5 years old; I can't find his paperwork. He is fed Ferret Store Natural Diet and because of his illness, he has loose poop. It start out has diahreea but has firmed up a little since but it's not the normal ferret style of poop.

Answer
Hi Beth:

There are probably about 20 different things that can cause wobbly back legs in ferrets, not the least of which would be general weakness after an illness. The weakness in the back legs *could* mean even more, so it's important that you stay on top of it.

Hopefully you are going to a good vet who knows a lot about ferrets, and he can help figure out the reason your little one is not coming back as early as you feel he should. It  is very possible that he has something more going on, so do stay on top of this.

If you are unsure about your vet, here are links to some lists of vets in various areas (all states & several countries) who have been recommended by ferret owners:

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)

One thing I would suggest, if your vet hasn't already, is to get some "Acidophillus" in him to help get his bowels back to a normal, healthy state. You can find this in some grocery stores (but make sure it has *live* cultures), drug stores and best at health food stores (because they keep them refrigerated, which helps the live cultures stay effective). You can also give him some yogurt, if he will eat it, or add it to his soup - make sure, again, that it says "live cultures" on the label.  With acidophillus you don't really have to worry about overdosing because any extra will just go thru and be eliminated.  I recommend getting some capsules (they are just easier to use if it's already powdered), usually about (I have used as small as several 10mg tablets to as much as 100mg) and mix it into his duk soup several days in a row. If you can only find acidophillus liquid-caps, just split the caps and put the liquid only into his soup - (Important Note: NEVER MICROWAVE OR HEAT LIVE CULTURES, OR THEY WILL DIE AND BE USELESS - add it to food that has already been warmed, or in the case of yogurt, feed it cold from the fridge); with tablets, put a tablet between two spoons and squish them together making powder out of the tablet, then add the powder to the warm soup.

Anytime a ferret (humans, too!) takes antibiotics, it's a good idea to follow the treatment regimen with a few days of live culture acidophillus to get the healthy bacteria back into the bowels so they can function properly.  

The acidophillus in itself *may* well be all he needs to clear up the remaining loose bowels and get feeling more like himself.

You didn't say if or how often you are feeding him the duk soup.  Please be really sure that he is eating before you stop feeding him (4 times a day as much as he will eat). He could lose ground really quickly this soon after such a severe illness - it's imperative that you make sure he is getting nutrition so his body can continue to heal.

I recommend counting the kibbles you put in his food bowl, and count it when it's time for him to eat, then you will know for sure if he is eating or not, you won't have to guess.

It would be good for your vet to do a complete blood panel and a fasting blood glucose as a starting point.  The way you are describing him going from being well to being at death's door is very very common with ferrets - it's the reason why we have to be continually watching our kids for symptoms so we can diagnose illness and disease early, especially in older ferrets. Even a young, healthy ferret can go from appearing well to death's door in just 24 hours.

At five years of age, your ferret is considered 'elderly', so handle him with lots of love and extra care & caution. Especially at that age, you never know if it could be your last day with him. Hopefully he has a few more years, but we never know these things. Sometimes we look back and wish we had done differently, so I just wanted to let you know and hopefully you won't have to look backwards later and feel bad.  If you are unsure, err on the side of being careful (i.e., feed him duk soup if you don't know if he ate or not).

Please write and let me know how he is doing in another few days. This period of time immediately after what appears to have been the worst part of his illness is very touch and go, so do watch him carefully for symptoms, to make sure he is eating and drinking - and give him duk soup along with his kibble, if you feel he isn't gaining his weight back, OR if he is still feeling weak. Both are symptoms to be concerned about. Ferrets get sick really quickly.....AND they usually get well really quickly too, so if he isn't really staying on a strong road back, you need to keep on top of it.

I'll be waiting to hear from you. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your little one.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers