Gizmo poops, shedding and other things

[GailWendy]

I'm writing here hoping for answers or advice. My little buddy, Gizmo, is my first ferret. We ended up getting two more but I'm concerned about him. We got him in October of last year. He is a marshalls ferret. During the winter he got a very fluffy coat and gained a bunch of weight. I weighed him around January or maybe February and he was about 3 and a half pounds. We live in Florida and it recently started warming up and in the past month he has dropped to 2lbs 6oz and has shed most of his winter coat. Last week I noticed he wasn't eating as much and his poops have gotten smaller. He is still just as playful and active. They are free roam on one side of my house, so they have a whole bedroom, small hallway, and bathroom that they have access to at all times. What concerns me is for that week he didn't eat as much and when he pooped he seemed to almost strain. So thinking maybe he swallowed hair I fed him an egg yolk with ferrevite. The next day he had some regular poops however one did seem a little yellow and weird chunks in it but after that all of then them were close to normal bigger sized poops. I, still being scared of a blockage, got ferret lax and gave him the protocol for just the one day and again still the same bigger poops and he is still happy go lucky. He is now having small poops again and I'm stressing out. He is drinking water and eating, but not as much as he did in the winter. They eat wysong and get an egg yolk once a week. Am I being paranoid or is there a cause for concern? Here is a picture of him dangling so you can see his waist. i.postimg.cc/RVRcWhFY/15556538916012104042527.jpg

[abbeytheferret6]

Have you tried the forum blockage Protocol?
holisticferretforum.com/health/blockages/
Here is directions how to do it.
docs.google.com/document/d/145QYWoTOJlsHViwRrtqDk8wPrFtx9sBxtKU0-sCYtwU/edit

You can use ferret lax instead of vaseline.I do not know if the vaseline is better( I had to mix a tad egg yolk with that and also with the pumpkin because my male would not eat it.) He doesn't like salmon oil, or I could have used that in the vaseline, but the tad of yolk worked.
If you use vaseline make sure it 100 percent petrolatum with no added stuff like menthol or other additives.
I use the measuring teaspoons and tablespoons.

I went thru the above protocol after I found a mop string in his pooh. He is also passing hairballs.(those light colored flat matted pieces)



I bought a furminator(he does not like it) It is really good removing lose fur.
Maybe someone else can give you more advice.

As for the ferretvite. I would not be giving that. It is full of sugar. One of the big diseases of ferrets is insulinoma.
holisticferretforum.com/health/insulinoma-2/correlation-between-insulinoma-and-improper-diet/
holisticferretforum.com/health/insulinoma-2/

If you have rubber toys do get rid of them and anything with styrofoam beads for the stuffing in toys--- and no beaded eyes or noses on toys. Other things to watch out for and put up so ferret can't reach include ear plugs, phones with protective covers and headsets with rubber on them. 

[Wgail]

Thank you so much for the reply and advice. I will definitely try that protocol. The ferrevite was just used to add a little flavor with the egg but I will definitely not be giving that as a treat as much anymore. The toys I have in the room for them are hard plastic cat balls, some soft like pom pom balls, little mice but they have no stuffing just hard plastic with fur wrapped around, and they also have card board boxes that they play in. I try to be very caution with stuff and if it starts looking to worn it gets thrown away. So glad someone replied and sent me some links to do some more research. Thank you again. I am the poster I just don't have an approved account just yet and don't know how to reply with my name.

[Heather]

Is this his first spring? They loose so much weight from winter to summer. I suggest starting to keep a monthly weight log. It allows you not to have a seasonal heart attack when they loose weight. I've got hobs that drop over a pound between January and June. Most of my boys are now eating about 3 oz of meat a day, from almost 5 oz during the winter.
They do indeed eat items that are inappropriate. Be careful of the little furry mice, especially if they're the ones with the little beady eyes and leather tails....both are edible in a ferret's mind and it's really not worth the worry and the never ending night as you wait for those parts to exit after using the blockage protocol
Ferret vite has a common name of insulinoma in a tube, I suggest using salmon or some other fish oil.
A raw egg (just whip it up) given weekly will help dissolve hair (but will give funky stools so be warned). If you feed raw, use the egg and watch for him eating inappropriate items you shouldn't need a type of ferretlax or other stool softeners
ciao

[gailwendy]

Hey Heather, thank you so much for the reply! He is doing much better with better poops now. It is his first spring season so I'm guessing that was it, thank goodness haha. The little mice are a fuzzy fabric over hard body with a fabric tail, nose and eyes(I rip the nose and eyes off). They are his favorite and he keeps them in the hammock but I do throw them out as soon as they start showing significant damage. I guess I freaked out because I have three and the other two are still pretty plump especially the younger boy, which is 5 months old but didn't develop a winter coat. Finding this forum has saved me a lot of stress and given me lots of knowledge 😊. Thank you again so much for the reply and advice.