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Post by angielau on Jun 15, 2021 11:32:29 GMT -5
Hi all, I’m a new owner and a bit worried about my kit’s poop. My kit is currently 13 weeks old. Her poop looks a bit moist and seedy. She just arrived for around a week for now. She’s currently on kibble, the nutrients of which is similar to Marshall. I know this is not a good food for her, and I plan to switch her to Ziwipeak air dried food later.
I don’t know if the seedy poop maybe stress related because she has had much changes in the last month from the breeder to the first agent and then to another agent and finally to my home, where she was separated from a ferret friend. She’s my only ferret, which means she’s on her own for most of the day.
She has been on probiotics and vitamin C since arrival, which I was told these would help her adjust to new food and boost immunity.
Should I switch her anyway to Ziwipeak now? Or should I wait for her poop to be stable first then switch to Ziwipeak gradually? If that’s stress related, what can I do to help her settle in and be relived from stress?
Sorry for these many questions.
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Post by unclejoe on Jun 15, 2021 16:12:28 GMT -5
seedy poop could mean fats are not being properly digested. I have not heard of vit c and probiotics being necessary to Transition to a new diet. I think It might be easier to start the switch sooner than later. How long have you had her?
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Post by lyles on Jun 15, 2021 17:44:15 GMT -5
Transitioning between kibbles always has a period of seedy poops, the different ingredients their GI is not used to just gets upset a bit, it'll go away after awhile unless they have an allergy to an ingredient. If it doesn't go away after a couple of weeks you can try another brand.
Another possibility is ECE. Unless you got from a private breeder nearly every petstore has ECE contamination as they do not sterilize the cages/terrariums they keep them in between batches. The stools doesn't have to be green, in fact with kits the symptoms are a lot less obvious to spot than with older ferrets. The virus itself will go away on it's own around a month's time, sometimes disappearing and reappearing during that time.
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Post by angielau on Jun 15, 2021 21:27:41 GMT -5
I just figured out how to post a picture here.   These are taken earlier today, which is my ferret's 6th day of arrival. Her poop was a bit more seedy and moist on the days before. It seems to me there has been improvement, but I'm not sure. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks a lot. |
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Post by angielau on Jun 15, 2021 21:33:40 GMT -5
seedy poop could mean fats are not being properly digested. I have not heard of vit c and probiotics being necessary to Transition to a new diet. I think It might be easier to start the switch sooner than later. How long have you had her? sorry for misleading ... vit c is simply use to boost her immunity ... while probiotics are actually widely use in my side (Asia) to help transitioning to a new diet ... please correct me if i'm wrong, thanks. I've had her since 9th June 2021. |
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Post by angielau on Jun 15, 2021 21:35:07 GMT -5
Transitioning between kibbles always has a period of seedy poops, the different ingredients their GI is not used to just gets upset a bit, it'll go away after awhile unless they have an allergy to an ingredient. If it doesn't go away after a couple of weeks you can try another brand. Another possibility is ECE. Unless you got from a private breeder nearly every petstore has ECE contamination as they do not sterilize the cages/terrariums they keep them in between batches. The stools doesn't have to be green, in fact with kits the symptoms are a lot less obvious to spot than with older ferrets. The virus itself will go away on it's own around a month's time, sometimes disappearing and reappearing during that time. If in case of ECE, other than poops, what else symptoms should I look for? The petstore doesn't seem to have a similar contamination as I saw the poops of other ferrets are just solid and fine. |
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Post by lyles on Jun 16, 2021 14:14:48 GMT -5
If it was bad they would also make chewing movements with their mouth, it's a sign of nausea.
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Post by unclejoe on Jun 16, 2021 18:37:31 GMT -5
Wow, she is quire new to you. the stuff on top looks like "healthy" kibble fed poop. A little seedy, but not scary. Poop will change with food change. Question is, how did she stack it like that?  ECE poops are BRIGHT green, like the guts of a lime, and very runny with a strong unique smell. Now that you've figured out posting pics, lets see the factory that produced that product  Again, you should start the food transition as young as you can because some ferrets get accustomed to 1 or 2 foods and are harder to switch when they are older. |
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Post by angielau on Jun 18, 2021 9:24:01 GMT -5
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Post by lyles on Jun 18, 2021 10:24:18 GMT -5
Here are the photos of the ferret food. It is from the breeder, so that I got my warranty for the newly bought ferret (hope you guys understand …). It is from China and is a very low quality i.postimg.cc/B6wQV6PQ/C9-   The corn, flour and soybean meal are red flags. You'd definitely want to avoid any kibble with corn in it, as corn has a lot of natural sugars that can increase the risk for insulinoma later on. Unfermented soy has an effect on hormones and I would not recommend feeding it to animals or people. There isn't enough study on it's effects on ferrets but it's better to be safe than sorry since a lot of things that affects people affect ferrets very similarly. Gluten in flour can cause GI problems. You also want to avoid any kibble with rice and peas in it. Rice isn't as bad as corn for filler, but it is a carbohydrate and will convert to sugar in their system. Peas can cause kidney stones, much like in cats. |
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