ferrets

by Barb Carlson

Arrow shows 1mL syringe with 0.2mL “drawn up”

• Be sure you understand medication instructions
• Write things down
• Read instructions back to doctor so you are sure you got it right
• Make a schedule of what to give and when
  • When you talk to vet you will have accurate accounting of what was given and when
• ASK QUESTIONS!
  • The vet can’t instruct you if he doesn’t know you have a question
  • Vet would much rather answer questions now than have to tell you later

NOTE: 1 mL = 1 cc

When you are getting instructions about medication, it’s important to take notes and ask questions. Read your notes back to the vet to be sure you really do understand. Often, while you’re reading, you’ll realize you don’t fully understand what the vet meant. Was that 1cc twice a day or 1/2cc once a day or what? Do you need to refrigerate the medication? Should it be shaken first? How long is it good for?

Many, many, many people don’t understand that once an antibiotic is mixed with water, unless the vet tells you otherwise, it’s NO GOOD after 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 24 HOURS left on the counter. Amoxicillin is very commonly prescribed. Once mixed (turned into a liquid from powder or pill), it’s only good for 14 days in the fridge. Other medications are stable without refrigeration … ask the vet.

Make a schedule. Make a grid of each day and how many times a day the ferret should have the medication. Write down the time you gave it. Write down anything you notice … “pawing at mouth” or “foaming and gagging” or “really hated this stuff”, etc. Notice how the ferret is acting … “lethargic,” “very alert,” “whimpered when picked up,” are all important things to tell the vet. It’s better to give them too much information rather than too little.

Ask questions … what is the name of the medication? How much should the ferret have? It has happened more than once that I was given the wrong medication or wrong instructions. I knew ahead of time what it was supposed to be and knew I had the wrong stuff. Another time, I was told to give 2mL when it was supposed to be 0.2mL! That was 10 times the dosage!

Before you leave the office, make sure you understand how to measure the medication. Once you get the idea of how to use the syringe, it’s easy, but the first few times can be confusing. Vets and vet techs sometimes forget how confusing it is at first. Make them show you HOW to give medication. (You scruff the ferret and put it into the mouth near the back of the mouth … squirting between the teeth slowly)

by Barb Carlson

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•  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.

This is a quick divergence from the “nursing sick and post-op ferrets” topic. Someone searched for information on why their 8 year old ferret was walking sideways.

Okay, the first thing that comes to mind is … take it to a vet. NOW! But truthfully, ferrets never do these things during normal business hours, and going to an emergency vet could easily end up costing $500 to $1,000 (or more) and the ferret could end up dying anyway. For a young ferret, I’d do it, but for an 8 year old ferret at the end of its life … that’s not so clear.

If your ferret is walking sideways, staggering, drooling (chin is wet), very lethargic and doesn’t move much, the first thing I’d think of was low blood sugar. Rub something sweet (honey, pancake syrup, corn syrup, jelly, Ferretvite, etc) on their gums if they’re not responsive. If they are able to swallow, give them something  sweet to drink. Super-sweet iced tea is good since many ferrets like tea. Regular Coke, Pepsi, fruit juice, etc. also work if the ferret likes them. NOT diet soda, obviously, since diet has no sugar.

Let them drink/eat as much of the sweet stuff as they want. Give them a drink of water. If, in 10-20 minutes, they’re acting much more normal, then it was most certainly low blood sugar.

Low blood sugar is most commonly caused by insulinoma. It can also be from diarrhea, liver disease, or anything that makes them nauseous. If they don’t eat, obviously they don’t have any “fuel” and could have low blood sugar. In a young, healthy ferret, not eating doesn’t usually cause low blood sugar. The liver causes glucose to be released into the blood stream from reserves in the liver. In an old or sick ferret, the ferret’s body may not be able to do this.

If your ferret has an attack like this, it definitely needs to be seen by the vet asap. If you can manage to keep it comfortable by feeding it something sweet (always followed by a high-protein meal like chicken or turkey baby food to prevent another sugar-crash), you can get it there the next morning. I wouldn’t wait more than 24 hours to get it to the vet’s office.

If giving the ferret something sweet doesn’t help, you have a much more serious problem. If it’s a young ferret, you need to take it to the emergency vet. If it’s an old ferret at the end of its life, consider having it euthanized if it’s uncomfortable. A “water shot” (subcutaneous fluids) often helps a lot … I think all ferret owners should have the skill and equipment to do this. Some vets disagree. If you have an old ferret, you really should be able to do this. If not, you’re going to either spend a lot of money at the vet’s office or your ferret isn’t going to last as long as it might.

If the ferret does have insulinoma, the normal treatment is a water shot, something sweet to boost the blood sugar level, a high-protein meal to balance it out, and a prescription of prednisone (if it’s an old ferret, prednisolone is better because it bypasses the liver).

I hope the person found some helpful information somewhere online. My ferrets like to do things like this at 2 o’clock in the morning on a holiday weekend. It’s helpful to know what you can do yourself and what needs a vet asap.

Definitions:

High-protein meal. Chicken or turkey babyfood … the kind that just has meat, no noodles or vegetables. I warm it and add a little water or Pedialyte (unflavored) to make it like a thick broth. The sicker the ferret is, the thinner they like it. Save unused Pedialyte by freezing in ice cube tray and storing in plastic bag in freezer until you need it.

Blood glucose = blood sugar level. That’s how much glucose is in the blood stream available for the ferret to use. Low blood glucose, often abbreviated as BG, means it doesn’t have enough energy to think, move, keep warm or run its organs. Severe low BG can result in seizures (often accompanied by screaming), coma and death. If a ferret can’t swallow, rub something sweet on the gums. It’s absorbed right through the mucuous membranes of the mouth. A water shot with glucose in it works even better.

Water shot = subcutaneous fluids = sub-q fluids. This is sterile IV fluids injected under the skin to form something like a “camel hump” of fluid. Fluids can be saline with other additives like glucose, electrolytes, etc. DO NOT try to give a water shot using sterile saline solution that they sell for people with contacts. It has to be the correct balance or you’ll make matters worse. Injecting something under the skin that isn’t sterile will only give the ferret an infection in addition to the problems it already has.

I’m planning on doing another article soon on dehydration, which often comes with low BG.

• They won’t move around much due to medications and pain
• If they get too hot or cold, they often don’t move
• To keep them warm safely, use an animal-safe device like a Snuggle-Safe Disc
  • No electricity or wires to chew
• Make a “warm” and a “cool” area in the cage so they can move (or you can move them) if they get too hot or too cold
• Check the ferret frequently and turn them if they have been in the same position for over an hour

Anesthesia can take as long as 24 hours to wear off completely, which means the ferret will be sleepy. The ferret should be awake enough to drink water and eat a little liquid food.

The Snuggle-Safe Disc can be warmed in the microwave and stays warm up to 12 hours. Suggested heating times range from 8 minutes for a 600 watt microwave to 2-1/2 minutes for for a 1300 watt microwave. As of 01/16/09, Amazon.com has them for about $25. I’ve used mine for years. As long as you don’t over-heat it, it will last a very long time. It should be put under the bedding and animal should not be placed directly on it.

Other types of heating pads can be used, but be careful with the temperature. Other types of pads can be filled with corn, wheat, rice, etc. They don’t hold the temperature as long. Don’t use anything electric due to shock hazard. Don’t use hot water bottle due to the ferret’s love of putting holes in rubbery things.

My favorite recipe for “duck soup” for sick ferrets (or as a treat) is as follows:

Cook 10lb chicken legs and thigh until bones are soft (1 hr or so at 15 lbs pressure in pressure cooker, or 24 hours covered with water in crock pot)

Fish out solids and set aside juice (save!). Cool solids (that’s everything including bones, fat, skin, meat, gristle, etc.) and run through grinder, food processor or blender. Do it in batches and put into a large bowl.

Cook some beef liver in a pan with a little olive oil. About 1 lb is plenty.

Grind up cooked beef liver in food processor. It works best if it crumbles up and is dry. If it’s too moist you end up with goop and it’s harder to handle.

Okay, now you’re ready to make the duck soup.

Take three cups of ground chicken, 1/3 cup of ground cooked beef liver, about 1/3 cup fat from the top of the broth and enough broth to blend until very smooth. The smoother, the better.

Portion out into small containers and freeze until needed.

This stuff is great. With the bones it it, it has enough calcium, phosphorus and other minerals to sustain a ferret for quite a while. I’ve had ferrets who ate nothing but my version of duck soup for over a year and did quite well.

The only caution is that if your ferret will be eating duck soup for a long time (like over a month) you REALLY must brush their teeth. That’s very, very, very important if you don’t want to spend lots of money at the vet’s office having teeth cleaned or pulled.

This is a question that I’ve been asked from time to time. The answer in a word: no.

Bonded ferrets can and do miss each other, get depressed, stop eating, get sick more easily, are under stress, start up old bad habits (biting, illegal poopage, digging, eating cloth, chewing on things) and generally are not happy campers.

If there is any choice at all, don’t separate bonded pairs.

If for some reason you just plain have to separate them (like when one dies), there are things you can do to make it a little easier.

1. Keep a blanket or bedding item with the smell of the other ferret. Obviously don’t wash it. Sometimes that helps with the transition.

2. Spend a lot of quality time with the ferret. Give it lots of treats, make sure it gets out to play WITH YOU a lot, give it lots of interesting and fun things to do, bring home boxes and bags with novel scents on them.

3. Consider trying out your ferret with another friend. If you can’t have another ferret, try a young cat or older kitten. Dogs sometimes work out well as long as the dog isn’t too rambunctious (no stepping on or mouthing of ferret).

4. Give it Rescue Remedy. This Bach Flower essence is designed to help ease stress in humans and animals. It works pretty well.

5. Talk to your ferret and explain why the other ferret is no longer there. You might feel like an idiot, but whether or not you believe the ferret understands you, if nothing else the ferret might get the emotional drift of what you’re saying. I happen to believe they understand a heck of a lot of what we’re saying.

6. Pay attention to how the ferret is acting. If it is acting sick, don’t assume it’s just depressed … take it to the vet and make sure it’s okay.

7. Make sure the ferret is eating. 12 hours without food is a very long time and not at all good. You might have to force feed the ferret for a time (look up “duck soup” and “force feeding ferret”). Make sure it is not dehydrated (pinch the fur on the back…if it does not fall right back down, the ferret is dehydrated).

8. Take the ferret places. If weather permits (not too hot!) take it for walks. Carry it in a pouch, in your coat or shirt, whatever works. Expose the ferret to new sights, sounds and smells. Give it a reason to live.

I hope you never have to be in the position of separating bonded pairs, but sometimes things happen. I hope these suggestions help.

Duck Soup

Duck soup is the term used to describe any number of versions of soft/liquid food that a ferret will eat when it doesn’t feel good. Most soups contain some form of high protein (meat-based) food, most commonly chicken, although turkey is used a lot, too.

Some people use the ferret’s own food, crushed and soaked in a liquid (water, Pedialyte, low-salt chicken broth, vanilla Ensure, etc) and made soupy. Sick ferrets seem to like their food easy to swallow, and the sicker the ferret is, the more liquid most of them like it.

If the ferret just won’t eat, it may be necessary to force-feed the ferret, and in that case, having a smooth, soupy food is very important.

Other people will use canned A/D (from the vet’s office) which is mostly liver and designed for carnivores. A ferret is definitely a carnivore, and while some hate A/D, others like it.

Some people use chicken or turkey babyfood. We’re talking about the “second food” type babyfood that is very smooth and does not contain noodles or vegetables. Many say things like “chicken and chicken gravy” or something like that.

A “quick and easy” version I’ve used is one can of A/D to two jars of chicken or turkey babyfood. It seems to be reasonably well-accepted, at least once they get used to it, and it has the advantage of having a liver in it (good for building up the blood) and is smooth enough that it can be syringe fed easily.

Tomorrow: More on duck soup

The basics of caring for a sick or post-op ferret include:

Don’t worry, I haven’t run out of photos. I just thought it was time to start talking about something a little more serious than photography (but I WILL be back to that topic!).

This weekend I’ll be at the International Ferret Congress Symposium in Pittsburgh, PA. They are having 3 days of talks, workshops, and shopping. I particularly like shopping. :)  I’m the resident shelter operator, so they asked me to do a talk on nursing care of sick and post-op ferrets, something I do a lot of in the shelter.

First, I’d like to talk a little bit about why you’d want to do this. Many vet offices keep post-op animals; why would you want to take them home and take care of them yourself?

Well, first of all, it can save you money. But more importantly, it will be more comfortable for your ferret. Ferrets stress out in unfamiliar places, and stress is a bad thing when they’re sick or recovering from surgery. Ferrets enjoy their own home, their own cage and most of all, their own food.

Another reason to take care of the ferret yourself is that no one knows or cares about your ferret more than you do. You can check on them more often, and with proper guidelines from the vet, you can usually handle post-op care. Mostly what a ferret needs is food, hydration and warmth. They might need some medication, too.

Another facet to keeping a ferret comfortable is his buddies. If they are gentle, especially with elderly ferrets, they really are much happier in the same cage with their friend.

Most of all, ferrets respond to affection. Vets and vet techs might have more knowledge, they might even think your ferret is adorable, but no one loves them like you do, and the ferret knows that. They respond to affection by eating just because you want them to. You can carry them around in a sack (if they like that). Sometimes, especially with old ferrets, they need a reason to stay.

Tomorrow: The Basics