On Sunday afternoon, my girl Vaida was acting a little more sluggish than normal. Since meeting her earlier this year, she's been slow and cautious and so snuggly, but something was off. She speedbumped more than normal, and refused food. So I was syringe-feeding her some soup. I'd decided to make her a pumpkin and rabbit soup, so that's what I was getting into her in very small amounts. Maybe 3mL at a time.

Her eyes were still wide and bright and she was still drinking well on her own. 

That evening, when she didn't even want one of her treats, I knew something was wrong. She had had most of a raw egg the day before, and when she pooped on the kitchen floor, I panicked. It was the consistency of egg white, but part was brown with a very slight red tinge to it. Any doubt flew out the door, I knew right then that she had something in her little tummy, even though the vet said it was something else... I was scared it would be too late for her at this point.

The vet on call was not a ferret vet and they would just keep her over night for observations. I figured I could do better than just watch her. But my car keys were in my pocket and the carrier was ready to go should I need to go see a non-ferret vet.

Maybe 15 minutes after that weird poop, she did another in the potty, but more was deposited this time. I syringed a bit more pumpkin and rabbit into her. She crawled to the water fountain and had a drink and climbed into the blanket in the carrier.

Another 20 minutes after that, she pottied again and when I inspected the toilet, this is what I found:

(Q-Tip is pictured for size-comparison.)



I had put on gloves to check it, and it was solid and feels like pure fur. I didn't cut into it because I put it in a ziplock bag and I am bringing it to my vet, so she can see the "lymphoma" and "IBD" she said Vaida had.

The poor little fart was wiped right out after passing that monstrosity. She tried to nap, but she kept having to get up and diarrhea. For the next hour or so, she had 7 diarrhea episodes. After each time though, she wanted more soup, so I fed her. After the 7th episode, she napped good and hard for a couple hours. The poop after her nap was beautiful! It was perfect! I still donned gloves and examined it completely. There was no foreign bodies, just pure poop.

Her appetite has been amazing, wanting food, food and more food. She has daddy running to make her soups every time she looks up at him with her sparkly little eyes (but she already had him doing that before Sunday night. LOL). He is so wrapped around her little paw. <3



We're still giving her pumpkin just to make sure there's nothing left to come out. Her poops have been seedy since that one perfect, glorious poop. But they are formed, and I think her tummy needs to readjust to life without that monstrosity.


I want to make it a point to say that I really don't recommend home-treating your ferret.
The only reason I did is because whenever I mentioned a blockage to my vet (the only vet who treats ferrets in my city) she told me her symptoms were likely to be IBD or lymphoma, given her age. She turns 5 this month, I think. And when I asked about a barium x-ray to check for a blockage, she started talking about biopsying Vaida's intestine to determine which it was.

If Vaida's seedy poops do not clear up, then maybe she does have IBD after all. But that wasn't what her symptoms were saying to me up until this point. Her symptoms were:

- limited or lack of appetite
- grinding teeth (usually when shown food)
- weird poops; very loose, hardly ever formed
- pawing at mouth
- vomiting

she also has had what seemed like a ridiculously enlarged spleen, which was the very first sign something was up.

In the months she has been with us, these symptoms have all periodically occurred, though not simultaneously. I absolutely told my vet about them, but she discounted them and came to the conclusion that it was more likely to be IBD or lymphoma.

I am so lucky that Vaida was able to pass that, without hurting herself in the process.
I'm also lucky that the food and water didn't build up pressure and cause her stomach or intestines to burst and go septic.

My advice to you all, is to be pushier than I was in this situation. Go with your gut, because you know what you have seen from your ferret.
The vet (depending on the individual vet, of course) may not always know best. I have never been 100% confident in my vet, and I should have demanded a barium x-ray when I brought it up at exam. If it had of been done, and a blockage showed up, we would have had the surgery to remove it. Costly, and a healing process afterward, but she would have been safe. This could have turned out much worse.

I love my little skunkers!
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” -Mahatma Ghandi

Soooo glad she's OK. Thanks for posting such a detailed description. Those symptoms sound exactly what one of my (cat) kits suffered. Turned out to be a fur-ball lodged in her back passage. I've been fortunate that none of my fur babies have ever been seriously ill. I'd be scared to death if they were. My vet (farm and large animals) is 14 miles away and the nearest ferret friendly vet is over 20 miles. My local vet (only 2 miles away) refuses to even look at ferrets as they are classed as wild animals and (here anyway) vets don't treat wild as it "interferes with nature". Load of xxxxxx but ce la vie! Sometimes daddy (and mummy) know best.

I'm glad everything came out ok.  Lol.  She's so cute.
I'd go easy on the pumpkin now that the emergency had passed.  I read somewhere that too much can flush the good flora from the gut, and it should only be used in emergencies.

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

She is adorable, isn't she? <3

I told Rich last night that we'd do pumpkin today and stop. If there was anything left in there, it would have come out. But I'm still paranoid... Maybe I'll switch it to an egg in her soupie instead.

KrazeyLady, that is really sad. In this day, I can't understand why people won't recognize that our pet ferrets are NOT wild. :(

I love my little skunkers!
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” -Mahatma Ghandi

xxLAYUPxx



KrazeyLady, that is really sad. In this day, I can't understand why people won't recognize that our pet ferrets are NOT wild. :(

It is a little antiquated, but in Europe people still cross domestic ferrets with European polecats.  I'm not sure why, because poleys can be a handful to tame.

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

So glad to hear that your ferret is okay..


I was looking on here to try and find anyone who has posted about what my little guy might be going through- (un)fortunately I found your post..

I have noticed my little guy doing this lately it only last a minute or so and only after I put him back in his cage after running around.

-He paws at his mouth (when he gags)
-Has weird looking poops (some solid but 1 or 2 of the day is loose)
nothing else off that list though


I do not know of any vet around my area that is good with ferrets but I am searching for one. I am going to call one of the many vets office and find out because this guy needs some help.

His poop has been looking off lately, which should have been my first sign but I thought that was because of stress since I just recently moved him to my apartment after taking him from my moms place.

I'm worried, I have ferret lax but am reading that its not good to give him (although I thought it might help to have something rather than nothing). He has been eating and drinking as much as I am around to see it (I just started back in college). 

Off to the vet it will be! Although I do not know what the costs are, being on a budget makes it difficult for emergencies like this. 

Blah.

Thanks for sharing this story. At least it gives me an idea of what I am dealing with.

look for a vet that sees exotic pets, as ferrets fall in that category.  You can have him lick a pea sized drop of vaseline off your finger, if your fuzz will take it, or plain pumpkin to help push things through.  But if there is poop, it's not a blockage.  Sometimes they will get a hair caught in their throat which drives them nuts.  The ferret lax is full of malt sugar, so it's not a good idea to give it regularly.

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

I will try what you have mentioned

Last night his poop looked extremely mucusy and seedy (stunk really bad). I do not have any of the soups or anything so I just took his kibble and made it liquidy and he gulped that stuff down off the spoon. This morning I look in his cage and he has 1 kind of small chunky poop but 2 big poops but 1 is definitely solid compared to the other. That's a good sign right? Or could that just be a random poop and he can still have something wrong?

When I was checking his cage, he ran down to me and wanted out immediately instead of staying asleep. I have not found a vet that takes exotic animals close to me- the closest is Toronto which by train is 2 hours. I will be calling around to different vets to see if there are any closer.

He's my baby- I will be keeping a close watch on him until I can get more of professional to look at him.

Thanks for the replies

But if there is poop, it's not a blockage.

I am going to have to disagree with that. Vaida absolutely had a blockage, but she was still pooping. She wasn't able to poop the way she should have been, but she was still pooping. So it was not quite yet a complete blockage (any longer, however, and it probably would have been). Normally it was awfully loose (sometimes mucousy, often watery), with the very occasional more "solid" poop (gooier, small blobs). Once she pushed that thing out, and was eating like a ferret should eat (the appetite! Holy cow, the appetite she had!) her poops became the perfect poops.

I would say that if he's still doing mostly normal poops, and if it's a blockage at all, it would be a partial blockage.
Have you noticed any holes in blankies or other soft bedding or toys? I have a couple of fleece chewers who I have to watch like a hawk.
Is he pawing at his mouth during the same part of the routine (like eating or grooming himself)?
Have you changed his food lately?

I wish she was still doing okay. She was actually doing absolutely fantastic until last Friday evening. She left, as we were racing her to the vet. She was wrapped in a blanket, in my arms. We opted not to do a necropsy (I can't handle the thought of her being cut into, even though she would never be in pain again) but my vet suspects that either the mass in her abdomen was a tumor that put more stress on her heart which couldn't take it anymore, or her spleen ruptured. Even though it had decreased in size and moved into a more natural place in her body after pooping out the "hair sausage," I'm thinking it was her spleen, because it just happened so, so fast...
My sweet Vaida...

Melie, where are you located? (Have I asked you this before? I feel like I may have...)

I love my little skunkers!
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” -Mahatma Ghandi

I don't think you asked me that I am located in Peterborough

Sorry about your little one :( That's what I'm scared of with him because I noticed when he pushes, it is difficult.

I am happy to say he had solid poops all day today and I have been feeding him soft kibble so far instead of solid just yet. I just want to be sure. (Even though I JUST put the hard kibble in his cage and I look over now and he's chowing down!!)

his energy seemed higher than it has been so hopefully he is doing better. I will for sure watch over him.

Ok, I had asked someone recently. I'm not familiar with that area, I'm currently in Sudbury.

Here's some places to check out:

These guys have "small animal" vets, and though they do not mention ferrets or exotics at all, you never know.
http://www.ptbovets.ca/

These guys have guinea pigs on their webpage, which are considered "exotics". Their address is Selwyn though, and I don't know how far that would be from you.
http://www.cahpet.ca/index.php

These guys are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I wish that was available here. They list ferrets as patients they see. This clinic would be my first choice.
http://jacksoncreekvetservices.com/about-us/welcome-to-our-clinic/

I hope one of these places is close enough to you and affordable enough as well. I know what it's like to be a college student with a ferret needing a vet.

Thank you. My sweet Vaida wasn't well when she came to me in March. My vet has assured me that there wasn't anything I did wrong. She has also told me that she couldn't have been in better hands for these last 5 months. Kind words, but I still have a shattered heart. She had been doing so well, dancing and dooking and being a ferret, which I hadn't seen from her until after she pooped out the hair sausage in the picture up top. I thought we were out of the woods.

I wouldn't say that Vaida's passing is what you could expect with your little guy. I'm sure it wasn't the hairball that took her from me. But definitely have him seen as soon as you can if you're worried.

I love my little skunkers!
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” -Mahatma Ghandi

I'm really sorry about Vaida.  
You're right:  Pooping can happen with a partial blockage, but from all I've read it's not usually normal in size, shape or even texture.  Fortunately we've never had to deal with it personally.

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

The bigger the blockage, obviously, the less normal the poops will be. I've read about full, partial and floating blockages. Partial and floating seem to present pretty close to the same way. They can have normal poops with occasional wonky poops. :( And occasional wonky poops aren't necessarily indicative of a blockage at all. It could be any new food or treat items, any stressful situation (moved, another new pet in the home, etc.) that upsets the ferret's little tummy.

And again, have your baby seen by a vet if you're worried. Even if it turns out not to be a blockage, it could be something else.

I love my little skunkers!
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” -Mahatma Ghandi

Thank you for the links! The third one is definitely someone I will be checking out, I didn't realize it was so close.

I noticed my guy has been pooping quite normally, although there is a struggle sometimes. I gave him some pumpkin and he doesn't show too much struggle *most* of the time

He still seems to claw at his mouth though, but his level of energy is beginning to raise. The times he claws at his mouth the most is when he is out and running around. Could it be dust or hair? He seems to get under some areas where we have not dusted sometimes. 

I did recently move him in here with me. It was a 4 hour car ride, although he was in his normal cage the whole time it's just a new surrounding for sure. That's why I never thought much of his poops until I noticed the stress he seemed to have had.

I will be keeping up on him, and will be contacting that clinic. Very nice to know where they are located.