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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2011 7:01:29 GMT -5
Where to start.. my 3 year old male ferret has gone off his food now I have given him access to more of the house. He's energy levels decreasing too. Waking up in the morning he'll roam for 15-20 minutes then go back to rest. :/ It's warming up and we are coming into spring and his moulting like crazy and looking more slender (This is normal though?)
Tonight I have confined him to a cage and cut up some rat pinkies and chicken meat and covered them in olive oil to tempt him.
Thank you to anyone who can shed any light.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2011 7:06:11 GMT -5
Does "gone off food" mean he's not eating? Could he maybe have a blockage? You said he has access to more of the house. Maybe he ate something that wasn't food and got a blockage. Is he pooping normally?
Maybe you should push vaseline and pumpkin. If he has stopped eating you probably should take him to the vet. They can't survive very long without eating.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2011 7:21:30 GMT -5
Thank you,
Off food - he's still eating just not a great deal, less then half of what he was eating last week. If I cut chucks up into small enough pieces he's happy to take a few from me then loses interest fast and goes to rest.
It could be a blockage or a hairball, he's woke up the other night and threw up, I rushed to see if he's okay and couldn't see anything in is vomit.
I'll buy some vaseline tomorrow and try that, thank you. If things don't improve I will be taking him to the vet.
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Post by Sherry on Aug 28, 2011 12:08:29 GMT -5
How are his stools? Pumpkin certainly won't hurt. And I just realized(again) that you are in Australia! He's likely just coming into his summertime appetite. When mine do that, yes, their appetites cut down drastically. And the losing weight thing is perfectly normal They'll gain/lose up to 40% of their body weight seasonally.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2011 17:47:19 GMT -5
Maybe I'm just freaking about because I'm so use to my tubby boy with his amazing think coat. :/ I hand feed him last night, starting with small chucks of rat meat and working up to the chicken chunks he did well, I left him last night with a huge chuck of chicken hanging out one side of his mouth. I bag 80-100g bags of chicken for him and 80% of it was gone, I was pleased. I've giving him a chick this morning and I'll let him back out to roam this afternoon and see how he goes. Over the past few days his stools have been as normal, long, medium-width, slightly different colours but nothing out of the normal. Over night he only used the litter tray once and produced a lovely dark sloppy stool. .. This could be because of the oil and liver meat I gave him also.. My main concern is he vomited a handful of time, once in the middle of the night he woke from his sleep and another occasion when I put him in the cage last night.
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Post by Sherry on Aug 28, 2011 17:57:35 GMT -5
The oil and liver definitely would have produced that type of stool. And heat can trigger lethargy. I know mine will vomit if they've eaten too fast, but it doesn't happen too often. Keep an eye on him, and if he changes for the worse, I'd take him in just to set your mind at ease.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2011 18:23:40 GMT -5
Do you have any pumpkin? Squash baby food?
The vomitting would make me be concerned about a blockage - Pixie did this when she had one. The pumpkin can help push any blockage out.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2011 21:53:10 GMT -5
I'll going to grab some pumpkin on my way home. Just mash it up and cover his food in it?
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Post by Heather on Aug 28, 2011 22:10:27 GMT -5
Try and get about a tbsp into him and see how it goes. You should see that show up in the litter box about 4 or 5 hours later. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2011 2:10:19 GMT -5
after soaking some in oil to get him interested I have got about 1/3 of a tbs into him the rest I have used to cover duck and rat meat. :/ I see how we go over the next few hours.
He was losing interest really fast and wiping his month on his bedding and hiding under it. Signs of pain? ):
I think a vet visit will be in order.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2011 2:30:00 GMT -5
mwhaha .. one of the rats finished de-frosting, I made him bite at it while I was holding it, after every bite I smeared some more pumpkin onto it.
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Post by Sherry on Aug 29, 2011 9:41:45 GMT -5
How is he doing, and has he had a good poop yet? If he's losing interest in eating, it's quite likely a sign of trouble. Keep a very close eye out, because you may have to run him in quite suddenly.
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Post by Heather on Aug 29, 2011 10:30:48 GMT -5
Appetite poor, energy level low....that sets all the alarm bells going off. If you can't find a logical solution, I'd be taking him in. It's just me, call me an old worry wart but if that goes on for a couple of days in a young ferret, it starts me thinking. Those two key symptoms can be from anything from shedding or a minor virus to a blockage to....anyway...lets just say it could be something or nothing. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2011 2:51:21 GMT -5
I took him in today after no luck with the pumpkin, the vet examined him and found a mass, we are under sure what it is at this point. His on antibiotics at the moment and going in first thing in the morning for a ultrasound. -fingers crossed-
He's down from 2kg to 1.3kg, still normal just don't want to see his weight any lower then that.
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Post by Sherry on Aug 30, 2011 8:49:33 GMT -5
Hoping it's something that will be easily treated. Keeping you in our thoughts.
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