Help with IBD and food transitioning

[Deleted]

Where to start?
My ferret starting having diarrhea in December.
He hasn't been diagnosed with IBD but his symptoms say thats what it is.
He has been on and off amoxicillin and metronidazole. He's currently on both as of now and pepto bismol. (I stopped giving him the pepto today.)
My vet tried suggesting royal canine hypoallergenic cat food but after researching, I found it causes stones. I also called and had the tech ask him about sub q fluids and carafate. Why didn't the vet suggest these in the first place? He also gave me pednisone which I haven't given to him yet because I want to see how the meds combined will work. I was reading that prednisolone is better for ferrets anyway. Im losing confidence in my vet and feel it may take forever to start all over again. I don't see too many exotic vets in my area.
I've been searching for the right kibble to switch him too although I strongly believe the IBD was brought on by bacterial overgrowth. (I caught him digging in the dirt on my front porch.)
But my ultimate question is should I even attempt to switch his food right now during the antibiotic treatment? I read that it could cause ulcers. I definitely don't want to make it worse than it is.
I've considered doing a duck soup with cooked chicken, pumpkin, baby food, nutri-cal, papaya enzymes & possible eggs. Im wary because of bacteria that can be on the eggshells.
I may switch him to orijen, it seems pretty good.
He currently eats evo kitten turkey & chicken.
But because I believe his IBD was brought on by bacteria, should I even change his food? Maybe his food did cause the IBD, I don't know!
Im grateful for any suggestions!

[Deleted]

Hi and Welcome to the HFF. (wave) What is your little guy's name? How old is he? I personally have not had experience with IBD ferrets, but alot of our ferrents here, have dealt with IBD. Have you thought about switching to raw? After 15 posts, you can sign up for a mentor and they will walk you thru a switch. If you want to stay with kibble, Wysong epigen 90 is considered the best kibble, and our ferrents who offer kibble, usually mix the Wysong with Orijen cat/kitten. We have a kibble chart on the forum, if you have trouble finding it or anything else that you want to search for, just ask and we can "bump" it for you. Sometimes the easiest way to search on the forum is thru your windows browser and then type in Holistic Ferret Forum kibble chart (as an example).
HurricaneKatt and Sherry are both very experienced and will respond and help answers some of your other questions, probably a little later today.

[Deleted]

I'm going to bump a thread or two, for you to read. They will show up under new topics.

[Deleted]

Thank you! i apologize I should have introduced myself. When my little guy isn't doing well, neither am i.
His name is Doobie and he's turning 5 in a few weeks.
I've read most of IBD forums and was able to gather some supplements to suggest to my vet (i'd be lost without this forum).

I'm hesitant to switch him to raw because I'm afraid to worsen his IBD with the transition. I'm going to look into that chart though, thank you so much.

[Deleted]

I bumped our vet list for you. Not all vets are created equal, most vets will agree to see a ferret, but usually only see dogs and cats. An exotic doc who regularly sees ferrets and has experience treating IBD, insulinoma, lymphona and adrenal makes all the difference in the world. Prednisolone is easier for ferrets, and so it would have been better for your vet to suggest that. I know how hard finding a good ferret doc can be, but with your research and the help and support from the forum, you can go to the vet better prepared. Just like our human doctors, sometimes we are the best managers of our own health issues and a little education makes for a better advocate for our little loved ones.

[Deleted]

Just came from the vet because after Doobie had some of the pepto he has the worst mucous looking diarrhea ever. The vet disagreed with me especially after Doobie left him one of the most solid poo's I've seen since this mess began. He wasn't eating much either, it seems only after the pepto was out of him system did his appetite return.

I also suggested prednisolone instead of prednisone to my vet and his response was the prednisone was recommend by his sources. Since I had to suggest the probiotic idea and carafate to him, I've lost my confidence in him.

Poncesmom, thank you for that list. The closest vet is about an hour away from me but I'll travel whatever distance it takes to get him back to health!
I'm going to try making a soup of chicken, pumpkin, papaya enzyme, nutri-cal and baby food. I don't think he'll take it but its worth a try.
Any suggestions would be great!

[katt]

I just wrote a very long reply and then lost it. I'm out of time now, but I'll sum it up. There is nothing better you can do for an IBD ferret than switch him to raw. The key is very slow and gradual changes, making only ONE change (one supplement, one new protein, etc) at a time, and keeping a very detailed journal as you go. I'll try to come back and post more later, sorry.

[Deleted]

I've lost a few replies, very frustrating.
Last night when I saw the vet I had him give me Doobie's chemistry results and blood work values. I now understand why the vet's first assumption was cancer. His lymphocytes and globulin levels are very high. I compared them to these reference's:
www.cabi.org/isc/FullTextPDF/2009/20093018989.pdf
miamiferret.org/physiology.htm
And unfortunately I think he's right. I think Doobie may be in the early stages of lymphosarcoma
But this reference gives me hope:
www.ferretcentral.org/faq/med/lymph.html

Has anyone been through this disease and had any experience with the chemo?

[Sherry]

I've heard good and bad about chemo. When it works it gives them a really good quality time and appears to send it into remission.
Other times it does nothing at all.