hacking/coughing or trying to vomit?

[Deleted]

ok, help - I don't know if he's trying to vomit or if he's coughing. We went to the vet, twice, two different vets and they agreed that he's just fat and he's on a diet now. On the bright side - the vet is supportive of raw diets i can't really understand how he got this fat, considering that I've been limiting his food a lot lately, he eats a lot less than the other two boys but still... And all of them eat separately and closed in the kitchen so that there's no stashes. I do think that before he would eat the others' leftovers when we were feeding them together without us noticing, but he just keeps growing...



besides this mess that the crew made in my room/closet.. is that a cough or is that him trying to vomit? Does it feel different if there is accumulation of fluid in his body or if he's building up too much fat around his heart? Now I am seriously panicking ( He's been doing this a lot for the past 2 days, yesterday we were at the vet...
In the past few days this has been happening regularly.

[Blue]

I'm sorry, I have no idea what's going on with Gabriel, but I was fascinated to see the mythical "porker"... he's so round! Poor thing.

Also I'm hoping by bumping this up that some of our more experienced members will see this -- Heather?

[crazylady]

Hi is he shedding ? if so give him a good comb he maybe licking his fur to try and groom himself and he has tiny hairs tickling his throat at this time of year they can also show signs of allergies ( some are even allergic to pollen ) silly things like dust can even cause a reaction of sneezing and hacking putting him on meat will be the best thing you can do he does need too loose weight ( I can talk I do too lol) you will see a different ferret once he does he will turn into a speed demon if the hacking becomes really bad try placing a little vasaline ( petroleum jelly ) on the roof of his mouth a piece the size of your small finger nail will do this will melt and coat the throat once digested it will also help to pass through any fur I give my guys 1 tsp of olive oil on there main meal as this works the same way and they love it it also helps with the skin and coat please let us know how he is doing take care bye for now
Bev

[Deleted]

I think he is shedding (or was) cos now he looks like having a more summerish coat. He is fully raw fed, he gets salmon oil and raw egg to deal with the shedding. The issue was that he was very underweight when he came here, and when we switched him to raw he became overweight. H became absolutely desperate for food. He did vomit a few times before, but that sounded different to me. What worried me was that the vet said she had a hard time listening to his heart because of him being so fat - and that's were my heart-issues paranoia starts from. He lost about 100 grams or so, aiming for more.

The vet advised me on giving him leaner meats, and avoid fat fish and red meats until he loses some weight (for about a month at least) and then still limit the red meat intake. I am a bit worried about getting his diet unbalanced. She also recommended some vitamin supplementation to prevent that during his diet (pure liquid form, no sugars or anything added to them). What do you think about it?

He has a bad case of gingivitis as well, terrible inflammation of the gums, so we are putting a dental gel every day for about 2 weeks and hope it'll get better. His breath is absolutely terrible and he has a hard time chewing because of the pain now. Which would lead me back to the way he was gulping the chunks before - without chewing properly - therefore the vomiting and overeating. She recommended we give him smaller pieces and blended food for about a week or so, until his gums start getting better.

[Deleted]

It sounds like your vet has a good handle on the situation. I would follow her advice.
One red meat meal a week will not imbalance his diet.

His cough/hack sounds like hair stuck in his throat. Sometimes, they begin to panic and then will vomit. Crazylady had some good advice and info. She always knows what she is talking about.

Until his gingivitis is better, smaller foods and blended will help him and make eating less difficult.

He sure is a cute fellow.

[Deleted]

Cool, that's the way we'll work on from now on I'm also taking him out daily for walks, since that seems to force him to move more than just by being at home. However, it's so funny how the little girl is trying to poke him to play and how he just rolls over after her, and she just bounces around like crazy. He was annoyed by her, and just layed on top of her, and she couldn't move. fat-bum that he is.

One more thing - how much should I feed so that I won't starve him? The vet said I should calculate according to the calories of each meat. But that sounds like a tough job. I'm currently feeding him turkey, chicken, quail and a little horse meat once a week, and a taste of fish once a week. Organs I used to feed pork, but if it makes a difference, I'll go back to chicken. But how little is too little? Since I can't know when he's full (never!), I have a hard time deciding how much to give him. The others stop on their own, but I can;t feed him as much as the others because they are bigger, more active and more muscular so I am sure they need more. Gizmo is a bulldog type of ferret so he has a totally different body structure. I'm now making a batch per day and spreading that is small feedings. But how low should I go, in quantity? I made him a puree, with water in it (in hope that it'll fill him up faster, and keep him hydrated). I'm used to each boy eating about 100 grams per day now, is that too much for a dieting ferret?

[Heather]

I feed Tico (commonly overweight and lazy hob) about 3 oz of food a day. This has helped him loose weight and maintain trim. Pureed foods are easier to eat and therefore they don't have to chew which then goes into the whole inhaling the food and eating too much. Tico is a lazy little poop and likes his chopped meats...so he gets 3 oz nothing more, no treats either.
One thing to consider is bad dental care often results in heart issues. I would be cleaning up his teeth as a major component of his health regime.
ciao

[Deleted]

That's an interesting point, how is that connected? The dental health with the heart health?

He was eating normally before, whole wings, necks, whole quail, chicks, grinds for the meats that are available only like that. so that's why it surprises me that his teeth were not doing that well. what I noticed was that all the pieces that he would rip off, he'd try to swallow instead of chew. And now of course with the puree, I have to control everything even better. I brushed his teeth a couple of times cos I felt like when he came here he had bad tartar on them, but he started chomping on bone better so I figured there was no need. On the other hand, not all ferrets are the same - genetic and health-wise. Now I have to stick to the puree cos it looks like he's in pain otherwise and just forces himself to swallow bigger pieces without chewing.

I am using dental gel and for now, and then back to teeth brushing. Hopefully he'll go back to a normal weight soon. I was so worried when he started coughing like that, that I almost took him to the vet as an emergency. Uuuuf

[Heather]

Here's some information on dental health and how it's responsible for heart health. This is the link to the whole article. healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/02/17/gum-disease-leads-to-heart-disease.aspx
If his mouth is in that bad a shape that the bones aren't helping him then a vet cleaning would be a good possibility. It gave Atreyu a new lease on life to have his teeth cleaned.

While studies clearly show a significant link between periodontal disease and heart disease in both humans and dogs, exactly how one leads to the other isn’t yet well understood.

Researchers suspect, however, that the culprit is bacteria in the mouth which enters the bloodstream. Mouth tissue, known as oral mucosa, is rich with blood vessels which hasten the speed at which bacteria can enter your dog’s bloodstream and travel throughout her body.

If your dog has periodontal disease, the surface of her gums is weakened and compromised. The breakdown of gum tissue is the door through which mouth bacteria enters her bloodstream.

If your pup’s immune system doesn’t kill off the bacteria circulating in her blood, it can reach her heart and infect it. The Purdue study points to a strong correlation between gum disease and endocarditis, an inflammation (infection) of the heart’s valves or inner lining.

Another way gum disease may lead to heart problems involves certain strains of oral bacteria. Some types of bacteria found in your dog’s mouth produce sticky proteins which can adhere to the walls of her arteries.

As this bacteria builds up, it thickens the walls of the arteries. This narrowing of the passageway through the arteries is closely associated with heart disease.

Bacteria are also known to promote the formation of blood clots which can damage the heart. Studies have shown that oral bacteria, once launched into the bloodstream, seem able to survive attacks by the immune system.

ciao

[Deleted]

1.feeding in ounces what males would typically eat
2.limiting his fat intake (since he does not need it for energy as he is not very active)
3. walks

all sounds like very good things to do.

you will probably have to have some patience with those walks as he will not be able to go to far and really u dont want to overdo it. A gradual build up of distance or a couple short walks a day. I am sure you will figure it out and will be able to help someone in same situation one day.

GET WELL LITTLE BOY.


I know exotic vets can clean teeth-if u ever want to do this in future when his health is better--it is something to think about.  

[crazylady]

Hi Heather is correct in the amount to feed ( she does give in though and treat him lol )well I should say he steals from her cats and dogs really lol my males get 3oz-4oz and its once a day ( and they do maintain weights of between 5-7 pound lol )I would also add in bonemeal or ground up egg shells ( this will act as a natural abrasive and clean the teeth ) you can make a tooth paste from bonemeal with a little olive oil ! if you are at home with him most of the day to get him to realise food will come cut his meals down into small portions ( so if you feed 3oz its three 1 oz meals ) doesn't sound a lot but this way they learn food always comes you don't have to eat like you are starving this is how I treat any rescues who are in bad shape but with really under weight ferrets normally its five meals lol if he is eating soups he will be sucking it down fast this will cause him to hack or choke try giving him small ground meats and personally I would be adding in some red meats they need them as red meats carry some important vits and minerals good luck with your baby take care bye for now
Bev

[Deleted]

I am happy to say that Gabriel is doing so much better! He's like a different ferret, he runs around and plays ! I',m so happy the diet worked and the results were so fast!

[Deleted]

Do send us some pictures

[Deleted]

There he is, helping me make the bed He hasn't really lost much weight, but he is no longer bloated, and he is so active, playing, running and dooking ! He kept poking me today, asking me to play with him, this hasn't happened in such a long time!