Sick Ferret Diet

[miamiferret2]

ferret lax has vaseline in it (its basically just vaseline mixed with molasses).

[miamiferret2]

the pumpkin should be given in addition to the vaseline or lax.

[gbrunz12]

If anof you have a vet that you would recommend in the Chicagoland area I am open. We found this vet/specialist from the Greater Chicagoland Ferret Association.

I will pick up some pumpkin right after work.

[miamiferret2]

that is who i was going to direct you to. that sucks. do they have anyone else that they can refer you to?

[gbrunz12]

Well, not a great start to the night. We got a hold of the vet and apparently the staff never gave her the message. She was extremely apologetic. When I got home, she greeted me right away, and when I picked her up she is easily under a pound now. I got some food in her, but not much. If I was lucky maybe a half - 1 cc of food. It is hard to tell because not all that made it in her mouth stayed. The vet faxed me her blood and chemistry panels as well as her Rx stuff. I am going too look it all over and see the vet in the morning.

How can you tell if your ferret is in pain or suffering? I know it may seem like a stupid question, but I have always seen them playing and being so loving that I don't think I have ever seen them sick or in pain and I want to know what to watch for.

Thank you for all of your help. I will keep you posted.

[Deleted]

For my girls, pain was displayed by grinding teeth, pawing at mouth (nausea), rubbing their face on the floor, lethargy, and refusing to eat. But ferrets are very good at hiding pain, so sometimes no symptoms are present until the pain has progressed further

Just curious, is there any food She loves? Plain meat baby food? Kibble soup? I would be syringe feeding her something

Good luck, it sounds like you're doing everything you need to. Please keep us posted.

Also, you could post the blood results here and have some of the more medically-experienced members look over it and make any suggestions they can. Sometimes an outside point of view can be really helpful

[sherik]

You are going to have to scruff her and force her to eat the soupy. 1cc is not enough for a mouse. Even pick up some chicken baby food for her. Mix it 50/50 with water I find is the easiest to squeeze through the syring. Take the 20 ml syringe with her scruffed in the other hand and slowly in the side of her mouth pointed upwards make her eat it. NOt too fast or you can aspirate her. This is going to save her life.
Or you could take a 3ml syringe and give her that every hour. That is what my vet did for my ferret when he had surgery on his jaw.

[gbrunz12]

That is the plan. We started the syringe feeding today. The first try was with the Archtype-1 pureed with some water and Ferretone. The second try is going to be with Beech Nut Turkey with Turkey Broth (couldn't find any chicken ones anywhere). I will be probably trying this all night. She is dehydrated so we are also trying everything to get her to drink water. Here is her lab work:

CBC:

WBC *5.0*
RBD **
Hgb **
Hct *75*
MCV **
MCH **
MCHC **
PLT *ADQ* (Clumps)

Differential:

SEGS *77*
BANDS **
LYMPH *22*
MONO *1*
EOSIN **
BASO **

Morph (too difficult to type in)

Chemistry Panel:

ALP 132 <-
BUN 24
ALT 770 <-
CHOL 206
GLU 126
PHOS 4.7
ALBG 2.3
T.BIL 0.3
TP 6.4
CALC 9.9
CRE 0.1
AMYL 10

Calculated Values;
Globulin 4.1
AG Ration 0.56

[Deleted]

Were you feeding something else before the 8 in 1 and did you change it without mixing the old and new together first? Just a thought.

Sent from my SCH-M828C using ProBoards

[gbrunz12]

No, it has been the 8 in 1 since they went to solids food. We just did the 4:1 mix of the 8:1 to the Archetype-1 to introduce it to her this week. We had two bowls, one of the mix and one of the old food just in case.

Well, the second round of syringe feeding went better. We fed her about 7ccs but she obviously didn't get all of it. I had fed her a little more and then her and her sister decided it was play time and have been running around the bedroom climbing and getting into everything they can. Whatever is going on with her, she still knows how to have fun. She's all tuckered out now. Between fighting with me and the food, and then play time. She curled up and passed out. I'm going to let her sleep for a bit and then try feeding her again.

[Heather]

You're doing a good job. She will need to eat every couple of hours. If she's dehydrated it's making her nauseas. If you can get her hydrated you will have won a good part of the battle. Dehydrated ferrets (dehydrated mammals) will not eat You will find an amazing difference even if your vet gives her some sub-q fluids. You can also make up some real broth...boiled chicken and see if she will take this as well. My guys love this when they're feeling under the weather.
ciao

[miamiferret2]

put clear pedialyte in her water. 1/2 pedialyte and 1/2 water. that will give her more electrolytes.

[gbrunz12]

Update: After the 10:00pm feeding I gave her about 10mL of the 50/50 mix of pedialyte and water and she loved it. I had to do it with the syringe but she was in ferret heaven. I then let her sleep for 3 hours and then we tried the feeding again. It was a mix of 25% clear pedialyte, 25% purified water, and 50% baby food via syringe and she loved it. She ate a full 7cc with all going into her mouth and down without much of a fight. When I would pull it away to re-situate, she would start grabbing at it with her paws. It was adorable and completely made my month. After the feeding, I noticed her turgor was better but still dehydrated. I will be up in 3 hours to do it all again. Good night all, and thank you again for your help. Rascal gave me a bunch of kisses before she went and snuggled with Butterscotch. I know those were meant for you guys.

[Heather]

Sounding good. Let her have all she wants. It will take a bit to get her re-hydrated, especially if she's a kibble fed ferret (kibbles keep them at the point of dehydration all the time, this leaves no room when they get ill so often they dehydrate before we're even aware they're sick)
Please keep us posted as we worry about your wee ones as much as our own

ciao

[Sherry]

I'm glad you are able to start getting something into her! That's a great start And yes, please keep us updated?