Lethargy

Question
My boy Blanket is 1 1/2 yrs old.  I adopted him about a month and a half ago.  He was wild and fun then.  but in the last couple weeks he has become lethargic and doesn't eat.  He is at the vet now but I am looking for some insight or feedback on what may be wrong.  The vet took an xray and there is no visible obstruction.  His stomach and intestines appear to be inflammed. They gave him fluids and barium.  his sugar is at 90.  After about 4 hours no change.  The vet is keeping him over night and will take another xray in the morning to see if the barium has gone all the way through.  He will also do bloodtests if there is no change by then.  Any idea what may be wrong?  We have 3 other boys and they are all fine.  Very fat healthy and active. I'm just very worried about him.  Thanks.  

Answer
Hi and thanks for writing. I'm sorry to hear about little Blanket. You're doing all the right things. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is not uncommon in ferrets, and that's what first came to mind, though yours seems a bit young for that. He may need Carafate, which seals up the stomach lining and alleviates the irritation. That could be why he's not eating. It could also be a number of other things, including a blockage, which would need to be addressed surgically. Has he had access to anything at all that he may have ingested (foam rubber, soft plastic, bags, pencil erasers, etc. etc.)?  Could also be a congenital defect. Inflamed GI tissue would make me suspect IBS caused by a bacterial infection but I cannot, of course, make a diagnosis. Is he pooping at all?  What do they look like? No pooping at all is a sign of blockage and must be treated immediately. Poorly formed or tiny poops means a partial blockage and must be addressed right away also. If the poops are normal, the vet should look at a sample under a microscope for helicobacter, coccidia, or another common microbe that invades ferrets and affects the GI tract.

I strongly recommend that you join the Ferret Health List at http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/?yguid=2605507 and post your question with as much medical detail as possible. The folks there (some of whom are vets with a special interest in ferrets) get questions like this on a daily basis. There is also an easy to search archives there which you can poke through to find answers to questions people in the same situation have asked over the years.

Good luck and let me know what happens,
DG