Question:My ferret is 1 1/2 and has not been eating or drinking, lost alot of weight, and is not active at all. He pooped once and it was only a tiny bit, but it was yellow and had a mucusy odor. I took him to the vet today and he did a fecal screen and said it was from stress and gave him medicine.
Does the fecal screen test for ECE or other intestinal viruse?
And I just recently got a new ferret (so now a total of 3) and he loves her, he played with her all the time. So I dont know what the stress is from and how do you reduce stress? Just thought i'd ask because he still refuses to eat.
Answers:
Your ferret could have an inflamed intestine. That doesn't always show up on fecal tests. It usually is stress related, but it can be caused by switching to a new food as well. Sometimes if ferrets don't like a certain type of treat it can cause their intestines to become inflamed. I have owned well over 20 ferrets in the past years and also run a ferret rescue and this is the most frequent problem we see.
ECE is characterized by green slimy poop and actually is pretty uncommon. Most ferrets are immune to it, and I heard this directly from the mouths of some of the top ferret vets in the country at the International Ferret Symposium last month.
I have seen the yellowish/birdseed/mucousy poop many times and it is easily curable. First off, make sure that your ferrets are being feed the highest quality food on the market, such as Innova Evo Ferret, Innova Evo Cat & Kitten, Zupreem, Totally Ferret, or Pretty Pets Gold. By feeding these foods, your ferret is less likely to get instestinal flareups.
Since you are having problems now, make sure you feed something that is easy for your ferret to digest. The best thing to feed is baby food. Chicken and turkey are the best flavors to use, but beef also works. You may have to coax your ferret to eat it. Let him lick it off your finger to start with. Then work your way to a spoon and then a plate. Sometimes ferrets only want to eat the food off your finger. You can also mix in some ferretone or ferrevite as well to stimulate eating. You'll want to feed about 1/3-1/2 of a 2 ounce jar every sitting. I usually feed every 4 hours. If your ferret is still drinking, that is a good sign. If the ferret becomes dehydrated, you may need to get him sub-q fluids.
If your ferret still doesn't want to eat, you may need to get some antibiotics to help with the intestinal issues. Amoxycillin or Clavamox are the two most frequently prescribed drugs for intestinal problems. You usually give them for one to two weeks and it will clear up any inflammation.
Definitely try the baby food approach. If that doesn't work, try mixing some dry food with water, let it soften, and blend it into a smooth runny paste. If the ferret doesn't eat soon, it can cause major problems. If the ferret still refuses to eat after all this you may need to resort to force feeding. This is something that you need to be well experienced at, so you don't cause your ferret to choke or inhale the food which causes major problems. If you are located near a ferret shelter talk to them, or even your vet should be able to show you how to properly do that. You can find a list of ferret shelters on the AFA website.
I've always had great success with feeding baby food and treating with amoxycillin. I've never had any fatalities and most recover within a week or two.
Good luck!
If the doctor said it was stress, then you might want to take a close look to the type of life the ferret is subject to. Does it get handled too much. Are there kids around? Is there too much noise and light where the home is placed?.
If the ferret refuses to eat, give something more appealing, such as fruit a lot of rodents like oranges, strawberries, also lettuce, carrots and other vegetables. There are sweet ferret treats.
And one more thing, about the fecal test, if your ferret had something else other than stress it would have shown in the test, if it has to do with intestinal infections.
Just don't let it go too far, maybe one or two more days then take him to the doctor if he is still doing the same.
My ferret did the same thing a year and a half ago...the vet thought maybe she didnt like the food we gave her? so he tried a kitten food...i believe it is purina one kitten chicken and rice flavor...get it at petco. Really try it! She has been eating only that ever since!
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