Kosmo-weird food related activity

Question
Jacquie, well we are progressing through the changes in the "soup", have cut out the AD and the gerbers baby chicken food, just grinding his old food into powder and adding ensure and pedialyte for the first time today. Today he has eaten less of the "soup" and has shown less interest, not because it is unavailable, I have counted out the kibble of his old food and have it in his cage, so far he has not eaten it. Before the food issues he loved Bandits treats but he won't even eat those, he gets real excited when I rattle the bag and he comes running, but when I offer it he won't take it, he smells it and turns away. I have offered Totally Ferret as a reward/treat and he is not interested. I think I am being positive and upbeat with his food issues, giving much praise and talking to him. He is such a silly boy sometimes, he makes me laugh with the things he does. Last night he found a small American flag that I was putting away and kept running through the house with it, I have barrel racing horses and it reminded me of the rodeos when they sing the National anthem. Too cute. I know you probably don't have time to hear about each and every ferret. The thing I have noticed of concern to me is that when he eats, he opens his mouth wide and licks his tongue way back on the outside of his mouth, and he makes a nasal sounding noise. This is new with the food issues and I had reported it to the vet when we went in. Also, after he eats he drops down to his belly and rubs his neck on the floor or towel, then he will run under the couch and start digging, this was not his normal behavior. I thought maybe he was trying to get the "soup" off his jaw and whiskers since the "soup" tends to be messy and stick a little. I have read so much about the fuzzies getting sick real fast that I worry about him. I also hear him making a tiny moaning/grunting sound when he is sleeping that I did not hear before the food issues (BFI). Do you think he is OK? His poop and pee are normal. He still plays and does his weasel dance, so am I just being too paranoid? Are these things normal? We are working on the food. My experience with ferrets is based on my daughters ferret who is totally different and has never had issues,and the research and reading I have done. My daughter says I worry about him too much, of course she lets her ferret eat dog food along with her ferret food. I have heard there is a ferret specialist near Indianapolis, which would be about two hours for me-should I take him there? If you tell me not to worry then I am done worrying about him. Thanks so much-Pam

Answer
Hi Pam:

On the contrary, I believe you are actually being a very observant ferret mommy and I suspect that *something* is going on with him.

* The rubbing of his chin on the floor after eating - perfectly normal, most ferrets do this, especially when they are eating any kind of 'soup'. He may or may not do that when he is eating dry kibble.

* Tiny sounds while sleeping are *probably* nothing to worry about...ferrets do dream and I had one ferret who snored! (teeny tiny squeaky buzz saw!)  I say *probably* here because they actually could be little whimpers that would indicate some tummy pain.  

* Ferrets who dig after they eat have a tummyache or are feeling uncomfortable.....so that one concerns me slightly - not terribly, but worth checking out.

* A ferret who is sick to his stomach or has stomach discomfort will sometimes dig at the roof of their mouth with their paws, drool, or dig seemingly at nothing...so watch especially for these behaviors and especially after eating.

Here are two ways I use to identify tummy problems:  

1.....Purchase some Pepcid AC; dissolve ONE 20mg TABLET in 10cc of water. Squish it with a spoon, let it sit, squish some more, until it is a milky looking liquid. Stir solution with syringe each time before use, and give 1/2cc of this liquid ORALLY about 1/2 hour before eating the AM and PM feedings (i.e. twice a day). Keep this solution covered with plastic wrap on your countertop so the water doesn't evaporate.

2.....Get a laxative called 'Vetasyl' at your local pet store or vet's office.  This is basically Metamucil for pets. Do this for THREE DAYS IN A ROW:

Open one Vetasyl capsule into about 4 oz of WARM, very very watery "soup" (I recommend using only baby food meat and water...as thinned down as he will accept it, and just enough baby food to get the water (or other liquid) down him.  

I give my kids the 3-day Vetasyl treatment at least monthly; every two weeks when they are shedding.

You will be able to track his progress if you spread his poops out on a few paper towels in good lighting with a popsicle stick or similar (gross, I know, but it's a great way to *see* exactly what he passes)  Once you see it, you will believe in this process. It's a great way to eliminate intestinal blockage as the root of his tummy problems.

Vetasyl does NOT give them diarrhea.  Look especially for dark, hardened, elongated compressed fur (anything that won't spread on your paper towels) within the poops.

Because of the medications your local vet put Kosmo on initially, I suspect that you may have a good vet already, so I wouldn't go out of town unless he was very very ill and you felt your vet was not adequate to do surgery, etc.

I will be anxiously waiting to hear from you...

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers