From: KAB137@psuvm.psu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Ferret vomiting
Date: 10 Nov 92 17:59:51 GMT
Organization: Penn State University



In article <VNYSB0AX@cc.swarthmore.edu>, sstockw1@cc.swarthmore.edu (Sarah
Stockwell) says: >Last night Miniver started running around the room
frantically, stopping in >a corner and retching, and running to another
corner.  After several >attempts, she vomited up something that looked like
it used to be a corn >chip.  She was scared and didn't want me to touch her
while she was running >around.  She quieted down after about ten minutes,
and went to sleep.  >Twice more during the course of the night I heard her
throwing up.  She is >eating and drinking, so I'm not too concerned, but I
wanted to know if this >is dangerous behavior or if she just has a
stomachache.  It is possible >that she found an old corn chip behind a desk;
I had some in my room about >three weeks ago and I haven't swept in the
interim.  Should I worry?

Sarah, You should DEFINATELY be worried, and I am very happy that you have
posted.  As soon as you read this, I would suggest that you make a vet
appointment, or better yet, go to an emergency clinic.  I don't want to
scare you...there is a possibility that Miniver will be fine.  But I have
seen you post here before, and I know how much you care about him, and just
the possibility of there being a problem is enough reason to take
precautionary measures.  The fact that he is still eating and drinking is
very good.  Ferrets do not vomit as a cat, dog, or person would.  If they
have eaten something bad they generally show you through diarhhea or
listlessness.  Ferrets only vomit when passing the cause through bowel
movements are not possible, that is, when they have a blockage.  In such a
case, however, ferrets don't usually like to eat or drink, and they will
become dehydrated quickly.  Surgery is the common method of removal, and
although it can be dangerous, it is successful, and the bigger the ferret
the better chance he has of surviving.  Also, the sooner you treat him, the
better.  Until recently, I figured that was it, that if the symptoms show a
blockage, get him treated and all will be fine.  Let me now tell you about
Shadow, my little one.  I got Shadow in February, and although he was cute,
he wasn't very big.  My first ferret, Whiskey, who lives with my parents, is
HUGE.  Not large, but obese and huge.  Shadow is like a third his size, and
I was hoping he would grow.  Unfortunately, he didn't much, and even now he
is about the size of a medium adult female ferret.  Anyway, about four
months ago we noticed Shadow just wasn't eating or drinking, and I was
worried.  I wanted him to grow!  I didn't even think of the possibility of
illness, because he was still active.  But about 2 days later we noticed
that he would run halfway across the room, then lay down, wherever he
happened to be.  Then he'd go a few more feet, and lay down again.  That
night we heard him throwing up, and I really got scared.  By chance we had a
vet's appointment the next day to have our cat spayed, and we took Shadow
with us.  Thank God for miracles....the vet told us that he was extremely
dehydrated, and if we had waited 24 hours he would no longer be with us.
She intravenously injected him with fluids (gross) and that definately
helped.  She took x-rays, looking for a blockage, which is what she assumed
this was.  She found nothing but a lump that could have been a blockage, but
she wasn't sure.  Then she started talking about surgery, to find out if it
was indeed a blockage....I started bawling!  We had the surgery done, and it
turned out that it was NOT a blockage.  She said everything looked good,
except discoloration of the gall bladder, and a node around the intestine
that was the size of a grape...  the node should have been the size of a
PINHEAD.  That was what showed up on the x-ray.  She could not remove the
node however, because it was a vital part of him.  So the poor guy went
through surgery for nothing.  (It wasn't the vet's fault).  The vet didn't
give up, she did bloodwork which she sent to California, and ran other
tests.  After the bloodwork came back there still was no definitive answer;
all she could offer was that maybe he ate something that he was allergic to.
By this time he was better, so we took him home and put him on a special
prescription diet that was gentle on his intestines.  We were told to feed
him only that for 2 weeks, so we kept the friskies (which we fed both the
cat and the ferret before) in the tub, so the cat could eat and the ferret
couldn't get to.  He hated the prescription diet, so he didn't eat much, but
he was drinking and acting well, so we didn't worry.  Then one day we came
home to find him in the tub (he's great at getting in to places he's not
allowed) pigging out on friskies.  Lo and behold that night he wa vomiting
all over again.  We took him back to the vet, she injected him with fluids,
and kept him overnight.  By this time we figured out that it was probably
the Friskies that did it, and we vowed to feed him nothing but the
Prescription diet.  He began to like it, and all was well...Until one more
time, Shadow got into the friskies.  Guess what happened...This time we
didn't worry, we force fed him water, several times a day, for 2-3 days, and
he was okay.  Now we knew we had to remove the friskies from the house
before he killed himself.  The trick was finding a food that all of the
animals would eat (now we had 2 cats) and like.  I tried Purina One cat
food...let me tell you, I was so nervous feeding anything different to
Shadow.  But it worked, and by another miracle, all of the animals like the
Purina one.  I highly recommend it...it's a good food.
   I am only telling you this because strange things go on in a ferret, and I
was never so scared as I was when Shadow was sick.  Better to be safe than
sorry.
  One other quick story...only once was Whiskey (my other ferret) sick.  When I
 was a freshman in college I took him with me, and about halfway through the
semester I noticed a lump on his back.  I though nothing much of it, until a
 few days later he began vomiting.  I immediately took him to a vet clinic, the
 only one that was open at that time of night.  The vet diagnosed it, I forget
 what he called it, but he told me not to worry.  Two days later, when Whiskey
wasn't better, my mom drove up to take him to my vet at home.  My vet laughed
when she heard the other vet's diagnosis...it turned out it was a BOT on his
back...for those of you who are fortunate enough to not know what that is, it
is a fly larva growing under his skin.  (I almost got sick myself!)  However,
the good news was it was extremely simple to remove, and he was better almost
immediately.  Just to let you know that there are exceptions to the rule that
ferret vomiting is extremely bad news... but please, take Miniver to the vet.
Ferrets are too wonderful to let them get sick and die....Please let me know
how he's doing...E-Mail me directly. Good luck.
---Kymberlie (KAB137@psuvm.psu.edu)