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Post by taratee on Apr 3, 2011 13:28:26 GMT -5
so lulu has been having tarry poops i am not quite sure what it means and the last vet i went to didnt seem so concerned about it
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2011 13:32:26 GMT -5
When does she get them? How often? My kids get tarry poops after liver/heart meals for about 24 hours.
Tarry stools can indicate an ulcer, or bleeding in the GI tract. Is she showing signs of pain? Grinding pawing shaking, etc?
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Post by taratee on Apr 3, 2011 13:54:31 GMT -5
we havent had a heart or liver meal in the last two days she doesnt shake or anything else to indicate shes in pain
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Post by Sherry on Apr 3, 2011 13:55:59 GMT -5
Are you sure she hasn't gotten hold of some heart/liver that's been stashed? Even though mine are cage fed, they are very...inventive...at smuggling some out to stash  |
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Post by miamiferret2 on Apr 3, 2011 14:03:06 GMT -5
if there is no teeth grinding, no signs of distress and she is eating normally, then i would not jump the gun and think that it is an ulcer. a bleeding ulcer will cause discomfort.
if you check all of their hiding places and can't find any organ meat stashed then i would have the vet take a stool sample. it could be lots of things really.
does it look black? can you take a picture of it?
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Post by taratee on Apr 3, 2011 14:37:43 GMT -5
they dont get fed in the cage and we just hyper cleaned the room today and didnt find anything stashed, is there any way to treat an ulcer naturally? ive been told the poops were black and kind of flat they didnt have that poop shape to them none of the pictures ive taken are any good my camera doesnt do very good up close
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Post by miamiferret2 on Apr 3, 2011 14:50:25 GMT -5
how is she acting? is she eating normally?
i don't really know of any natural ulcer treatments.
if you are sure it is an ulcer (which i am not so sure of b/c she is not grinding her teeth and that is always the first sign)
then you can give .25 ml of pepto every 8 hours
also dissolve 1 tablet of pepcid a/c in 10 mls of water and give .25 ml's every 12 hours
give pepcid before pepto as the pepto will interfere with the pepcid being absorbed.
carafate can be used instead of pepto and it works much better but you will need to get it from a vet.
helicobacter can cause ulcers. most ferrets carry the bacteria and it flares up and causes stomach problems in times of stress -it causes gastrointestinal upset. sometimes a ferret will have gastrointestinal upset (evidence is green or yellow jelly like poops and seedy stools) during seasonal sheds. even shedding and growing a new coat causes them stress. especially the older ones.
black tarry stools are usually the sign of an ulcer but if you suspect it is an ulcer you should take your ferret to a vet and have x-rays, stool sample and blood tests because it really could be many things. ulcers are often caused by the stress on the ferret's system that is being caused by another illness (sometimes a more serious one) that is present.
i had a case of "ulcers" in an old ferret but when it kept recurring after treatment, it turned out to be more than just ulcers. it was intestinal lymphoma. another case of "ulcers" in one of my ferrets turned out to be renal failure. so, whenever i see an ulcer (or suspect an ulcer) i am always suspicious and i have a full work up.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Apr 3, 2011 14:52:43 GMT -5
also ulcers don't always have to cause "black tarry stools." sometimes there will be little black dots in the poop. like coffee grounds. or there will be long black strings in their poop. you can rule out whether it is a human hair that they swallowed because these stringy black things are usually gelatin like and they break apart easily. a digested human hair is easily distinguishable from these.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2011 14:54:32 GMT -5
My boys have tarry poops if I don't include enough egg shell or add pumpkin. They also always have tarry poops when they eat chicken... i think chicken digests really fast and comes out mostly unprocessed? And like everyone else said, organ meals as well
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Post by miamiferret2 on Apr 3, 2011 14:55:06 GMT -5
beef gives Sonny darker poops. and lamb.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Apr 3, 2011 14:56:04 GMT -5
there is a poop chart somewhere on the internet.
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Post by taratee on Apr 3, 2011 15:19:50 GMT -5
shes acting totally normal not more angry nothing to indicate pain, she stll plays with everyone could it be that shes not getting enough bone?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2011 15:21:21 GMT -5
It's possible - can you get a stool sample done cheap? Maybe call around and see if anyone does them without a visit or anything.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Apr 3, 2011 15:21:57 GMT -5
i really don't think she has an ulcer then. i think it is the food. yes try adding some more calcium.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2011 15:25:48 GMT -5
What's she been eating lately? Maybe a food sensitivity?
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