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Post by anunnaki on Feb 27, 2017 20:55:10 GMT -5
My little Oxley has had green slime poops for a couple of days now and just now it was green slime water next to his pee on the tile floor. I'm freaking out a little here the ferret ER vet isn't working tonight.
What do I feed him?
What can he drink?
I will get him to the vet ASAP in the morning but I truly need help.
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Post by LindaM on Feb 27, 2017 21:37:59 GMT -5
First of, is he still eating and drinking normally? How are his energy levels looking?
Is your little one on a raw diet? If so, do you have some raw soup on hand? Or maybe some emergency Carnivore Care or meat-based baby food?
Can you check his level of hydration? Pinch the scruff and see if it goes down immediately or slowly. Check gums too, are they a healthy pink?
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Post by anunnaki on Feb 27, 2017 21:49:27 GMT -5
Still eating and drinking and running around.
He's the pickiest ferret I know, he is on kibble. I do have chicken baby food and unflavored pedialite.
Gums are a little pale and skin is showing some signs of dehydration.
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Post by LindaM on Feb 28, 2017 0:22:17 GMT -5
Hmm... okay the baby food can work, Carnivore Care would be better though, since all baby food is cooked, but it can help hydrate at least. The fact he is eating and playing is very good, I might see if he wants to eat some of the baby food since it's more hydrated than his kibble right now, you can even add a bit extra water to it to make it soupier. Be aware though.. some of the baby foods cause more diarrhea in some ferrets, I know for a fact mine can't handle the Chicken or Turkey baby foods, as it gives them super runny poops. I am concerned about the signs of some dehydration already showing though. The problem with kibble-fed ferrets are that they are always borderline dehydrated, so when ill, dehydration hits them even harder. And once severe dehydration begins to set in, the only way to rehydrate would be using sub q fluids through a vet, as orally will no longer help. So you'll need to get to work on that. Try the baby food, and could you perhaps make a little broth for him to drink (normal broth, not the mixes, so say just the plain water a chicken cooked in without any salt or spices)? That could encourage him to get some more liquid in his system, since you mentioned that he is at least still drinking by himself. And please keep an eye on his fluid intake and hydration level, if it goes down or he starts refusing to drink by himself, I'd be trying to syringe some broth or baby food with pedialyte and get to a vet ASAP. But if he continues to drink and eat well by himself, I'd see the vet in the morning as soon as you can, and remember to take a poop sample with you. Also, this is a home pedialyte recipe, which can have more success with stubborn ferrets than normal pedialyte: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/796/electrolyte-solution-home-pedialyte |
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Post by anunnaki on Feb 28, 2017 5:55:40 GMT -5
Thank you so much. I spent the night making sure he had everything you said. He took in a lot of food and fluid over night and his poops gained almost normal consistency, however, they are still the wrong color (dark with green mucous). I noticed seedy poops leading up to this water green poop. I'm going to see the vet today, I will take a poop sample with me. I don't think I will take my other to the vet as he seems completely normal at this point?. I still try swaying him off of kibble but he rather starve than eat anything else. I hate that he's on garbage for food. My other one is much more open to trying new things, Oxley is a stubborn boy.  I will have an update from the vet later. Thank you again so much! |
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Post by LindaM on Feb 28, 2017 6:44:15 GMT -5
That's wonderful news to hear. I hope the vet can help figure out what's wrong with him, poor baby. If your other one is behaving, eating and drinking entirely normal, then it should be okay to just take in your sick baby. Though I would keep an eye on the other for a bit still just in case they start to exhibit any symptoms too. As for switching, some ferrets are STUBBORN! All of the stubbornness. And it can be a long, and difficult process to switch them. But it can most certainly be done. It just requires patience and persistence. I'd suggest signing up for a mentor on here to help you through that process, someone who can personally work through it with you can be invaluable. And the benefits of feeding raw versus kibble... almost too many to count. After I started doing partial raw with my two, and then got them on fully raw only diets... the changes I saw in them, I will never go back again. Good luck at the vet today! I hope it's something minor and easy to fix.  |
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Post by unclejoe on Feb 28, 2017 7:08:08 GMT -5
best wishes.
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Post by joseph on Feb 28, 2017 13:10:28 GMT -5
Good luck!
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Post by anunnaki on Feb 28, 2017 22:34:20 GMT -5
Well the verdict is in, bacterial infection. The vet did a stool sample and said it was full of bacteria and no parasites. He gave me amoxicillin and two types of probiotics. I wish I could prevent this in the future but I have no idea how he got it. I've heard many ferrets hate the "pink medicine" (amoxicillin) so I'm hoping his first dose tonight goes ok. Thank you again for the help, I don't know what I would do without the help of this board. I will keep trying to get Oxley off of kibble, and I will look into the advice of a mentor. <3 Thanks to everyone for the good lucks.  |
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Post by LindaM on Feb 28, 2017 22:52:34 GMT -5
Aww, the poor little fuzzball, but at least you know what's wrong now. Those are nasty, and yeah, not even I like taking Amox... Poor little thing, be sure to give him a treat after.
For now, let him stay on the kibble until he's done with his meds. Switching will require doing sessions of raw and sessions of kibble, as too close together, they also result in bacterial overgrowth. So I'd go ahead and apply for a mentor in the mean time, but wait to start until your boy is doing alright again.
Another very easy way to get bacterial infection would be wet kibble, that practically breeds bacteria. So that's one to look out for.
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Mar 1, 2017 7:35:29 GMT -5
Glad little one is on his way getting better. Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/22651/complete-water-poop-green-solid#ixzz4a4fA5pJI had one like that also, a 20 month old from craigslist. It took into the second day before she would eat soupie on her own. I began worrying as all mine eventually caved to dabbing soupy on their mouth. How i did it: I gently prised her mouth open and put it on the side. I did this pretty well all day after repeated daubing her mouth did not work. I even tried scruffing which she found offensive. She would not yawn, and started running from me when she saw me coming. When I coat kibble, I am pretty desperate:)) She could tell the kibble had the lightest coat of soupy on it. I just said what the heck and went for it. I do not like forcing but there comes a time in my opinion...... After that, she got hooked on soupie and would lick slivers completely clean:)) I had to lightly daub the slivers with soupie with my finger, and she would accidentally get them in her mouth while licking soupie off. Thank goodness I had no problem with bone, which I think her finding jerkified meat helped with that. Anyway, don't think he is a hopeless case. |
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Post by Sherry on Mar 1, 2017 10:29:25 GMT -5
I find amoxi is generally better accepted than others here lol. And bacterial infections(overloads) can happen from simple stress, doesn't matter if the ferret is kibble or raw fed.
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Post by unclejoe on Mar 1, 2017 20:25:24 GMT -5
26 ferrets, all fed at least partial kibble, and I've only had 1 with a bacterial infection as you describe. It had all the signs of ECE, which is pretty common, but mostly asymptomatic. Amazingly, the other 3 I had at the time didn't contract it. In your case, it probably wasn't the kibble. Was the bacteria identified to you? (ECE overgrowth presents with BRIGHT green slimy poop, and I mean the color of the guts of a lime to the color of a tennis ball).
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Post by anunnaki on Mar 1, 2017 21:00:37 GMT -5
26 ferrets, all fed at least partial kibble, and I've only had 1 with a bacterial infection as you describe. It had all the signs of ECE, which is pretty common, but mostly asymptomatic. Amazingly, the other 3 I had at the time didn't contract it. In your case, it probably wasn't the kibble. Was the bacteria identified to you? (ECE overgrowth presents with BRIGHT green slimy poop, and I mean the color of the guts of a lime to the color of a tennis ball). I don't know why it slipped my mind to ask what kind of bacteria it was. I don't believe they identified it but I will call tomorrow and ask anyways. They said it wasn't contagious to my other ferret so I'm guessing they knew something. I was worried it would be ECE, my other guy hasn't showed any sings of illness yet. They told me my family or the indoor/outdoor pets could have brought something in. |
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Post by anunnaki on Mar 1, 2017 21:18:01 GMT -5
LindaM Thank you for all the advice I will be sure to try again with him once he is feeling better. I've tried many things and he curls his lips at it and fights to get away from me haha. Frustrating as all get out. abbeytheferret6 Thank you as well for the advice and story, I will try not to give up on the idea. I really do worry about them eating kibble he's just always been my stubborn little guy. At least the cats and dogs have really enjoyed all the treats that the ferrets turn their noses up to lol. Sherry He's really good at shaking the dosage out of his mouth I'm not sure if there is a better way to give it to him or not. I was told he could get the infection from stress too. My cat was ill a lot and the vet said that he too was stressed so now he is an indoor outdoor cat (what he always wanted) and he is much happier and healthier. Sadly I don't know how to make the ferrets even more comfortable. They have a huge home, lots of toys, roam the house, get played with all the time, and fresh food and water daily. Maybe I need to get more creative?
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