Debbie asked about vomiting.  This is an article I wrote several years ago
based on a presentation by my vet, Dr. Mark Burgess.
 
Vomiting* can range from the occasional "nuisance" to the regular vomiting
on an empty or full stomach, and may or may not be accompanied by diarrhea.
This presentation address vomiting without diarrhea.  The main causes of
vomiting (without diarrhea) are foreign bodies (the most common cause of
vomiting), Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Heliocobacter, and liver disease
(the least common cause of vomiting).
 
Foreign bodies:
Not all ferrets with foreign bodies will vomit.  Foreign body ingestion is
usually caused by rubber or hair balls.  These foreign bodies can lodge in
the stomach or intestines.  Objects remaining in the stomach are free to
move about thus not creating as urgent problem as those items that get
lodged in the intestines.  The foreign bodies in the stomach usually
require surgery to remove them.  However, the intestines, being about as
big around as a pencil, can get blocked easily (a "functional" blockage).
If surgery is not performed within 12 hours, the intestines start to die
and the ferret will succumb.  For this reason, vomiting should always be
taken seriously.  If a ferret has had previous problems with a hairball,
the ferret should remain on a hair ball medicine the rest of its life -
as often as needed but may require medicine daily.
 
There are many foreign-body look alikes.  These include gastric ulcers
which may be caused inflammatory bowel disease., irritation of foreign
bodies, "stress", and drugs.  Stress due to moving, introducing new
ferrets, owner tension, etc.  can produce increased levels of acids
which burns through the stomach lining.  Drugs such as non-steriodal
anti-inflammatory drugs (N.S.A.I.D.'s) excluding cortisone can cause
vomiting.  The new N.S.A.I.D, Rimadryl, which is prescribed for conditions
like arthritis, does not cause stomach upset in dogs.  Unfortunately, it
does not work the same in ferrets and will cause vomiting, severe bleeding,
and ulcers and should not be used on ferrets.
 
Generally, if the vomiting symptoms are slow to come on, the condition is
not caused by a blockage.  Always do a blood profile first to rule out
liver problems.
 
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD):
This condition is where the immune system attacks the bowel or stomach,
without an infection being present.  IBD is frequently caused by an allergy
to foods.  In a blood panel, an increase in lipase is indicative of IBD.
If a ferret is allergic to its normal diet, switch to one of the new blends
such as duck and potato.  It is important not to feed the ferret any
specialized diet unless medically required since these foods may be
required as the future staple diet.  Lamb and rice, which is commonly used
in foods today, will not work unless the ferret has not ever received these
products in its diet before.  The treatment of IBD is diet change and
cortisone.  [Ed. note: Since this was written, Dr. Burgess has started to
use Imuran as the primary drug for IBD.  Also, Dr. Burgess has found that
diet change does not seem to be as effective as cortisone or Imuran.] There
are lots of conditions that mimic IBD so it is difficult to diagnose and
requires a biopsy of the bowel.
 
Heliocobacter:
Heliocobacter is caused by an organism in the stomach and results in
ulcers.  The treatment is easy - Amoxicillin and Flagyl for two weeks
but diagnosis requires a biopsy to be certain.  Dr. Burgess and his
pathologist, Dr. Stever Gardner, do not believe this condition is as
common as reported.
 
Liver Disease:
Liver disease, or hepatitis, is common.  Typical signs of liver disease
are loss of appetite and lethargy, sometimes occasional non-tarry diarrhea,
and less commonly vomiting.  (Tarry stools would indicate that ulcers due
to I.B.D., heliocobacter, etc.) There are two types; bacterial and
lymphocytic.  Bacterial is easier to treat but the ferret becomes
dramatically sick from this condition caused by bacteria in the liver.
Also, the ferret may become jaundiced.  Lymphocytic liver disease looks
a lot like IBD and is caused by an immune system problem.  If not treated,
it can progress to full-blown lymphoma.  The liver can tolerate a lot of
damage before showing signs.  However, the liver also has an amazing
capacity to heal itself.
 
*Vomiting is different from regurgitation.  Vomiting means that the food
has entered the stomach whereas in regurgitation, the material does not
enter the stomach first.  Regurgitation is common in ferrets with
megaesophagus, a relatively rare condition.  In megaesophagus, the
esophagus dilates due to the lack of muscular motility.  When the ferret
attempts to swallow, the food or liquid cannot be propelled into the
stomach causing the esophagus to swell as it fills.  As a result, the
ferret regurgitates usually within minutes of eating.
[Posted in FML issue 3056]