Jan 20 2009
Post surgical care: Food
by Barb Carlson
- Post-surgery: Food
- They need nourishment to heal
- Unless the ferret is vomiting or the vet says otherwise, try to feed a small amount as soon as you get home
- Very liquid is best
- If nauseated, wait an hour and try again
- Do not try to feed an unconscious ferret
- Offer small amounts frequently (1 tablespoon)
- If they don’t throw up after 2 hours, then let them eat more than a tablespoon at a time
Ferrets have a fast metabolism and will heal quickly, but they need nourishment to heal. Most post-op ferrets can be fed thin duck soup (see post on duck soup) as soon as they get home. Start with 1 tablespoon. Wait 20 minutes. If they don’t throw up, give them another tablespoon. Wait 20 minutes. Continue this for a few hours. Don’t force the ferret to eat, and if they gag when you show them the food, don’t push it.
Make sure they have a dish of water handy. It’s easier for them to drink out of a bowl than a water bottle. After food, always see if they want a drink of water. Make sure they aren’t so sleepy that their head droops into the water and they drown themselves.
If, after 3 hours of limited duck soup they haven’t thrown up, offer them the thin duck soup and let them eat what they want. Then offer it every 2-3 hours, depending on how much they ate. If they ate a huge amount, they aren’t going to be hungry for a while. If they only ate a little, offer it again sooner.
Lots of fluid and high-quality nutrition are the keys to fast recovery.
Depending on the surgery done, some ferrets are ready to eat kibble as soon as they wake up. They won’t eat if they’re nauseated, so if they’re crunching kibble, they should be okay. Obviously if they vomit, take the kibble away, wait for 30 minutes, and then try a little duck soup to see if that sits better.
Ferrets who are young often act like nothing has happened even after abdominal surgery. Don’t give in! NO CLIMBING until the stitches or staples have been removed. If they want to play, let them out where they can’t climb for a little while. Usually they don’t play long before going to sleep. If they are calm, and they have calm friends, you can put them with their buddies once they’re fully awake. However, if they are young and want to wrestle, you need to separate them to keep them still.
Abdominal stitches are the ones you need to watch closely. Watch them closely for signs of scratching or chewing. That is a BIG problem. You do not want a ferret with its guts hanging out, trust me!
Stitches that do not open the abdomen (neuters, tumor removal) usually do not have the same problems as abdominal stitches. I will do an article on issues with stitches soon.
