Weight Loss & Fur Thinning

Question
I have a two or three year old ferret, Mya, one of my four, but coming into this spring she's lost ALOT of weight. She's playing, eating, and drinking normally. I checked her stool and it does seem a bit runny most of the time. her fur has gotten alot thinner as well. I was just thinking maybe the fur and weight loss was from shedding to her spring coat. I don't know what it is, what should I do?

Answer
Hi Jessica:

I'm so sorry to hear that Mya isn't doing well.  It would be impossible for me to diagnose her, but it definitely sounds like she has enough symptoms that she does need to see a vet.  Any time ferrets start losing weight (other than normal seasonal weight changes), they can go downhill really fast.  There are several things it could be - from something simple to something very serious that requires surgery, so I truly think a vet visit is in order.

Do you have a good exotics vet in your area that your ferrets are already established with?  If not, here are some links where you can check for vets and hopefully get her in right away - not *emergency*, but *very soon*. In the meantime, if she does stop eating, drinking or pooping, this would become an emergency where she'd need to be seen in a matter of hours at most, so do watch for those symptoms.  Since I don't know where you live, I will just list several websites and you can choose which is applicable for you. Some vets appear on more than one list, but others are only on one, so if you don't see one in your area, try the next link and so on: (cut & paste these for easy use)

FERRET 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

FERRET VETS CANADA:   http://www.ferretrescue.ca/start.php
                                          http://tinylink.com/?TlVyYKa6e0
                                          http://www.ferrets.org/Veterinarian_Listings.htm (Brit Col)
                                          http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html

UK & IRELAND:  http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ferreter/vetlist.htm

Best of luck with that little girl. I hope it turns out to be nothing serious. Please keep me updated tho, okay?

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers