Sore bum?

Question
I recently bought a 3 month old jill from Petland. She used to whine quite a bit and has since stopped [which is unfortunate because I thought it was cute, heh] and overall seems to be very active and VERY playful.
She's been eating regularly and very well so far [Sunscription Vita-plus.] She had some diarrhea when she first arrived here, but I figured it was the stress of a new move. Her poop is now more solid and appears normal, but I've noticed that her butt is very red and can sometimes look swollen. It does this off and on every couple of days and I'm not sure what the problem could be.
Any suggestions or anything that might soothe it?

Answer
Hi Ro'Chele:

It sounds like your little girl may have been given dry kibble food too soon, which causes a "prolapsed anus". It is caused by them straining to poop, which pushes the inside of the anus outward, which can be very painful.

The recommended treatment is to apply something called Anusol-HC1, which you would get in a grocery store or pharmacy in the "hemorrhoid treatment" area. This medication will help lessen the swelling and inflammation. Apply it three times a day for a couple of weeks. If that doesn't resolve the problem, you *may* need to have a "purse-string" suture procedure done by your vet, which will cure the problem.  It's very sad when pet stores sell ferrets that have been taken from their mothers waay too soon (which is why she was whining too :-(*  

I would strongly encourage you to change to a better quality ferret food. She won't change right away, but you can get a different brand and begin by putting just a few kibbles of the new in with the bowl of the old; then each time you refill the bowl put a little more of the new and less of the old. It can take weeks to change her over completely.   

Another way to introduce her to a new food is to use it like a "treat".  Get some Totally Ferret, which most ferrets like and is a very high quality (and will help her live a longer, healthier life in the long run) and give it while playing with her....maybe even dipping it in water, then offering it to her so the flavor comes out. Hopefully she will take to it right away. Some other good foods are Path Valley Farms (the chicken with 50% protein, not the turkey - most ferrets just don't like the turkey flavor); and if price is a problem, you can mix the Totally Ferret with Iams KITTEN (in the purple bag), which is also very high in protein and has Taurine, which your ferret needs. The food you are currently feeding just isn't one of the best, and for the money you can get much better for her..so I hope you will consider changing her over. Just remember to make ALL food changes slowly...a little at a time until you are sure she is eating the new food. Ferrets "imprint" on their food and often, unless it smells like the food they are used to eating, they won't even recognize it as food.  So, put the 'new' food into the bag of old food that you have and shake it over and over to blend the flavors...then the next time you buy food, get Totally Ferret and then you can start adding some Iams Kitten kibble if you wish to do that. It's almost always a good idea to mix at least TWO or THREE foods to feed your ferret. If your ferret is only used to one food and the company reformulates it for some reason, you could end up with a ferret who won't eat - and then you have a real problem. If they are eating a MIXTURE of several foods, you can always add another one into the "MIX" and they hardly notice - and it's better to do introduce her to several foods while she is young; if you wait until she is older, she may be very stubborn about changing.

A great treat is Ferretone or Furotone - mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (and keep the extra Ferretone in the refrigerator when not in use), shake well and give up to 1-tsp per day as a treat / vitamin/ essential oils that her body needs.

Best of luck. I hope you get your little girl's problem with her bottom cleared up. Be consistent in putting on the Anusol HC-1.  Use SMALL AMOUNTS and massage it in - remember that any excess she will be licking off, so use as little as possible.  

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers