New and a little worried

[rue]

Hi everyone! I'll sum us up a little here real quick 😊 I have an 11 week old ferrets naked Helga. When I got her the store told is she was almost 10 weeks old. When I went to get her birth certificate I learned by her date of birth that she was a little less than 7 weeks. YIKES! Of course I was already hopelessly in love with her and I've had ferrets before so training her and everything has been pretty smooth sailing so far. I've been worried about her health being so young and away from Mom, but so far so good. Her young age made changing her diet pretty easy (though we aren't 100% there yet) so that was nice since we are still struggling to get my son's ferret (22 weeks...we got her at 11 weeks) over even a little (she absolutely refuses). I'm a little concerned the last 2 days though. Helga has thrown up in the evenings both days, has had diarrhea, and has been less active today (taken more naps, but not as sound and of sleep as usual). She is still eating and drinking plenty of water. She actually acts like she's starving eventhough she's had her normal meals and treats! She normally gets a quail egg for a treat in the evening towards the end of play time while I clean out her pen for bed, but last night she threw it up, then this morning I gave her another one to be sure she ate (she was not interested in her regular breakfast) and she acted like I've starved her for days climbing my leg for another one. I did end up giving her more and she's held everything down today and ate just fine. Today was bath day and she was a little whiney during bath whereas she normally loves it (when I say bath day I mean rubbing her down with a warm cloth and a bit of coconut oil. It's really dry where we live and it helps her not be so itchy combined with the salmon oil I give her a little of each day. She normally LOVES this time of the week) She's also being rather clingy preferring to be held and wrapped up in my sweater I wear in the evening (I'm thinking my smell is comforting her), to her normal preferring to chase my feet. She's just not feeling herself and not acting like my regular crazy little one. I've called every vet in my area and none of them deal were ferrets! I reached out to my son's vet for his ferret 4 hours away and they said that she probably just has a virus, but gave me a list of things to watch for so I can leave right away if something changes to get her to them. I was wondering if maybe some duk soup would help, but I don't want to give her anything that could set back our work in changing over her diet. I've read pedielyte like you would give a little kid is good for hydration, but it seems like that would be unnecessary sugar and I have no idea how much I would give her. Thank goodness I found this page! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Blue]

Hi Rue, welcome to the Forum! I'm sorry Helga is not feeling well. First just a note about ages -- the birth certificate they give you at the store is not at all a reliable indicator of age.

The vomiting is worrisome, unless it's right after she gobbled her food down at top speed. But since she also has diarrhea, it sounds like it's more than that. It's good that she's still drinking. Ferrets get dehydrated really fast and it rapidly becomes an emergency. If that happens, even a vet who does not specialize in ferrets can help her by putting her on fluids (sub q or IV). So if it becomes an emergency, get her to the closest vet, get her hydrated, and then worry about finding a specialist.

A very good alternative to duk soup, especially if she is already on raw (congratulations on that!), is our raw soupie:

8oz boneless raw chicken (thigh meat preferred)
1 oz raw chicken liver (or other raw liver)
1 oz raw chicken hearts (approximately 1-2 hearts) or 1 oz other raw heart
½ to ¾ tsp bonemeal or crushed egg shell (air-dry egg shell then crush with mortar and pestle or in a clean coffee grinder)

Run it through a good blender. More info here:

holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/raw-diet-the-meat-of-the-site/raw-soup-recipe/

But if you think she really needs rapid feeding/hydration without going through the trouble of finding those ingredients, I'd just grind some chicken (pure raw, no additives), add water, and serve. If she's being difficult, try warming it up a little and/or hand-feeding her.

Many ferrets get clingy when they're not feeling well, so that's a sign too. I'm sorry you're going through this without the backup of a good vet. It's good that your son's vet is willing to talk to you. Good luck and keep us updated!

[Heather]

What are you feeding as part of her regular diet? and how much? Baby ferrets need high amounts of food and bone in food is imperative. Eggs could be part of the looser stools, especially if that' all she's eating. The soupy is a good starter
I realise you've called around to various vets but I would be making it a top priority to be having a vet you can get to and who will treat your ferret.
ciao

[Sherry]

Agreed. Give her whole meats like wings. If she has to chew, she'll slow down on how fast she eats, and it will help her teething as well. And a good ferret vet is definitely a TOP priority. As well as having a secondary emergency vet.