HELP

[jinxil]

Okay, so we got a new ferret yesterday from a lady off of craigslist who didn't want the poor thing anymore, and the only reason I call her a poor thing cause she looked very malnourished. i'll give you a list of things we noticed immediately.

1. She's very skinny.
2. her nails were mega long.
3. her fur is brittle.
4. shes abnormally small.

Noticing all this, I knew we had to take her. according to the previous owner shes a year or so. Which blew us away because we have another ferret (Jinxil) whom is almost 4 months, and he's twice her size.
We brought her home immediately I clipped her nails and gave her a shower, her fur felt alittle bit better but not to my satisfaction. Then we introduced the fuzzies and they kinda ignore each other at first but they get along perfectly.
but when they were playing, well Jinxil was trying to play with her she just seemed very uninterested I noticed shes missing little patches of fur on her upper back/neck, and under her belly. & she doesnt like to play or anything really, today I took them out and all she did was smell walk around go back in the cage, eat, drink and go back to sleep meanwhile Jinxil is roaming the house like a king.

Anyone know what could possibly be wrong? im thinking its cause shes very malnourished and shes new to the place but im worried.

btw cause shes missing patches of fur we decided to name her Patchy, the previous owner also said they didnt really have a name for her which explains alot.

[dragonswartz]

Wow, thats horrible that they didn't care enough to even name her. Hopefully it is just the malnourishment, I have a girl that was rescued as a stary and she was very skittish, didnt want to play ate constantly and was missing much of her fur too. After awhile I noticed her fur coming back in, and she plays like the rest of them now. Good luck, and thanks for rescuing her. I am sure she will be worth it once she realizes she is in a good home now.

[jinxil]

She came outta the cage before, but she refuses to play with Jinxil, instead she just lets him attack her and then lays there in submission. i'm hoping she comes around. lovely lady she is though, picked her up and she started licking my fingers.

[jinxil]

Patchy is on the left and Jinxil is on the right. : )

Attachments:

[judy]

The poor baby!! I wouldn't expect too much too soon. The poor thing is probably overwhelmed with any attention at all, and maybe playing is just too new for her. Give her some time - she sounds like she'll be a good girl once she gets used to her new home. I hope too that the missing fur and brittleness is from a lousy diet - both my sables felt like porcupines when they first came to our house but softened up within a couple of months on good food.

Thank goodness you took her home with you. Imagine how good (and new!) it must feel for her to be clean, loved, well-fed and to be curled up with a new buddy after the way she was living. How sad that they didn't even like her enough to name her. Congrats to you and to sweet Patchy.

[sunny164]

Good to hear you rescued her! I have to wonder what goes through people's minds when they get ferrets in the first place only to ignore them. I got one of my guys off Craigslist, and he was a mess too, but not quite as bad as yours. Only thing I could think to look out for with the hair loss is ringworm or mange, otherwise, it is most likely just poor nutrition/stress/etc...

That pic is really sweet too.

[Barbara]

It could be stress and malnurished. Give her lots of love and she really really needs to see a vet and get her vacs started and be checked out. Any ferret that small/disinterested need an evaluation by a vet. I'm sending lots of hugs too.

[jinxil]

i feel alittle better her fur feels so much better, and i've been watching the both groom each other all morning. shes making progress though.

[dragonswartz]

That's good news, hope it turns out to be nothing a little love can't fix.

[Katiebug]

Poor baby, I can't believe they didn't even name her!!! That's so awful. WTH is wrong with people??? UGH! A vet check would be a really good idea considering she was neglected like that. Poor baby. Also, if she checks out to be healthy, then just give her some time to adjust to everything.

[joclyn]

she needs to be seen by the vet!! she could be malnourished or she could actually be older than you were told and may have an illness like adrenal disease. or she could just be losing her winter coat.

regardless, she needs a vet check - shots are going to be needed and she should be checked for infection & parasites...if she's got anything, she may spread it to the other one. and, vice versa - your original one may have something she's not been exposed to and she may get sick.

you should always quarantine newbies until they're cleared by the vet as well as to give some time for illness to show up - infections can be hidden and will come to the fore with the stress of moving and that can take a couple/three weeks to occur.

a good quality kibble and supplemental feedings of a high protein food (homemade gravy, canned a/d from the vet or even canned food like evo brand 95% meat canned or before grain brand 95% meat canned) will get the weight on her as well as work on making the coat better. it may take a couple of sheds before the coat is completely better, though.

females tend to be smaller than males, so, don't let her small size bother you too much!!

if she really is as young as you were told, she may do a small bit of growing now that she'll be getting a better diet.

[angelanemilysmom]

Im sorry but I have to agree with Jochlyn, and at anytime you get another ferret expecaly off craigslist you need to keep the little sweetie apart from your other one til she is seen by a vet so she dont have any kind of sickness and gives it to your other ferrets..

[Dingo]

Mar 2, 2011 23:49:27 GMT -5 @joclyn said:

she needs to be seen by the vet!! she could be malnourished or she could actually be older than you were told and may have an illness like adrenal disease. or she could just be losing her winter coat.

regardless, she needs a vet check - shots are going to be needed and she should be checked for infection & parasites...if she's got anything, she may spread it to the other one. and, vice versa - your original one may have something she's not been exposed to and she may get sick.

you should always quarantine newbies until they're cleared by the vet as well as to give some time for illness to show up - infections can be hidden and will come to the fore with the stress of moving and that can take a couple/three weeks to occur.

a good quality kibble and supplemental feedings of a high protein food (homemade gravy, canned a/d from the vet or even canned food like evo brand 95% meat canned or before grain brand 95% meat canned) will get the weight on her as well as work on making the coat better. it may take a couple of sheds before the coat is completely better, though.

females tend to be smaller than males, so, don't let her small size bother you too much!!

if she really is as young as you were told, she may do a small bit of growing now that she'll be getting a better diet.

Great post! If you follow Joclyn's advice you won't go wrong.
This is clearly a ferret that is overwhelmed by life and now the sudden change for the better. You will see good results with her fur within a few weeks if you put her on a high quality diet.

I have adopted ferrets from less than stellar homes and they have blossomed given just a little time and attentive care. It's incredibly rewarding to see them come out of their shells a little more each day. I love watching them when they snuggle into a clean, fleecy hammock for the first time ... it's the look of sheer disbelief on their tiny faces that such a good thing could exist in this world.

We adopted a CL ferret a few weeks back and he was pretty much the ultimate rescue. Sadly he didn't make it - but he had two weeks of round the clock duck soup, clean, fleecy hammocks along with high quality kibble and clean water - and people who loved him very much.

Keep us updated on your progress!

[unclejoe]

When I got Carol, she had been owned by a 12 year old girl who lost interest in her after a couple weeks. He fur was thin and greasy and she was skinny. She was getting cheap cat food. She is now the biggest female I have had, tho only just over 2 lbs, but her fur is thick and soft and she is an absolutely loving, super-smart girl. Good luck with your new one. Good food makes a big difference.