ferret wont eat, lost a lot of weight

[sandy]

will start by saying my ferret has been at the exotic vet all day for observations. At first the vet thought my 1 1/2 yr old ferret had cardiomyopathy and after exam/xrays came to no conclusion and is baffled
Frodo is a 1 1/2 yr old male silver back. Full of energy and quirkiness. He has 2 roommates that he adores, Annie and Oliver.
Very recently, Friday evening, we noticed Frodo's energy declined and weight loss. Saturday we noticed a lot more weight loss. We separated Frodo so we could observe his bathroom habits and eating amounts. He is drinking small amounts at a time. Hasn't willingly eaten in 48 hrs. Force fed him ferretvite last evening. He lapped up some ferretone early this evening and we force fed him about an hour later 1 tsp of mushed kibble. We stopped because he grinded his teeth for about a min. He has been defecating about every 8 hrs, shorter than normal and sticky consistency.
Anyone have any ideas?

[Barbara]

Could he have an obstruction? Ferrets are notorious for eating things they aren't supposed to. Other than that, it's just hard to say but it sounds like Frodo is in good hands. Sending lots of good thoughts and prayers.

[sandy]

The Xray showed his bowels were clear. Had a mink farmer suggest pureeing raw liver and splashing his coat with it as he will then clean his coat and get valuable nutrition. Will try this this morning. May have to go back to the vets

[sandy]

Had two poops during the night. Light brown and othe greenish. Consistency that of the mush we are force feeding him. Smeared his coat with pureed liver, after an hour he still hasn't cleaned himself (he is a very fussy eater even when well). Have him booked for another vet exam this afternoon

[odin]

If the poop is green and slimy it can mean ECE.

Are the poops especially thin? And I don't mean watery, I mean they have a small girth. Like are they skinny sized poops. Because that can mean partial obstruction.

Grinding of the teeth can mean nasseau or pain in the abdomen.

Loss of apetite, weight loss, grinding of the teeth... these are the symptoms of so many different ferret ailments. Ask about a helicobacterial infection. We had on of the those. It's such a nasty infection and so hard to treat. Helicobacter is a bacteria that is in the tummy anyway, and if something gets imbalanced it can infect the entire GI tract, causing nausea, vomiting, runny poop, tummy pain, loss of apetite, weight loss.

Liver can trigger worse diarrhea, try doing the same kind of purree but use raw chicken meat. Thigh is good because it is a dark meat and contains lots of Taurine, which is a very important amino acid for avoiding cardiomyopothy. Chicken heart would be even better.

If it is a helicobacter infection, you will likely get two antibiotics and pepcid or some other kind of tummy coating medicine to help keep food down. The treatment can take over a month.

If you are already giving liver, then it's just step away to feeding full on raw meat, which will be the quickest and healthiest way to stabalize the weight. You can also add a little heavy cream to your purees to give it a little more fat.

I don't know if there is a way to confirm helicobacter without a biopsy, but we did surgery for ours and the biopsies still came back negative. I am convinced that the only thing that saved my little girl was switching her to her raw diet, b/c it was so easy to digest and so efficiently absorbed in the intestines, plus all the extra moisture kept her from getting dehydrated... she was just so much better able to deal with the treatment, and we have had no tummy problems since.

[sandy]

The poopps are about the girth of my pinky finger so that's good. He only grinded his teeth the one time. Perhaps nausea from too much force feeding at one time?

Will run out and get the chicken livers and try that

Have a vet appt late this afternoon and will talk to vet about all above

Thank you

[Barbara]

Sounds like he has some sort of infection that needs to be treated with meds. At least that's what I'm hoping.

[sandy]

back to the vet we went.

his poops remain green and oily, vet thinks oily because of the ferretone he has ingested. She was able to get a stool sample when inserted thermometer he protested loudly and defecated everywhere. When she palpated his abdomen he screeched in the area of his kidneys. She felt he was more inquisitive today compared to yesterday.

He was given IV therapy and glucose as vet doesn't feel he has gotten any nutrients from his food. Frodo is also on antibiotics to be safe. Although the chicken liver and cream is a good diet she put him on a critical care canned food called a/d as is higher in calories and proteins.

It will be a waiting game until test results come back

[sandy]

oh, he didnt clean his coat of the liver smears , just thought would add that too

thank you everyone

[judy]

My mom had a dog several years ago that developed pancreatitis (sp). She lost weight very rapidly and no matter how much they fed her, she was always starving. Once diagnosed, she had to have a particular enzyme powder (I can't even guess what it was) sprinkled on her food 20 minutes before she ate it, and that made all the difference. After a couple of weeks she looked like the old "Abby." She had to do that for the remainder of her life - until she disappeared from the yard one day and was never found

I'm not even sure a ferret can get that, but it might be worth a mention. Hope your baby feels better soon.

[Barbara]

A/d is a great food for sick ferrets. I keep a couple of cans on hand all the time. Another great food (mix) is Carnivore Care, when a ferret is sick. It has to be ordered by a vet and the company name is Oxford I think. I mix them both and make a soup when ever one of mine is really sick. Still keeping our paws crossed that the meds work too.

[sandy]

I'm happy!

After 2 doses of antibiotics and some feedings with the a/d diet I'm pleased to report his poops are a brown colour and he is willing eating on his own at the moment

So happy!

[Weezz]

That is good news!

[Barbara]

I love good news.

[Asyia]

That is good news! And who doesn't love a good story about poop.