>From:    Jean Squires <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Refusing to eat
>
>If your ferret is refusing to eat please remember one thing.  He HAS to
>eat.  I have saved several ferrets from our shelter that have stopped
>eating from ECE, depression (shelter shock), etc.
 
Good advice, Jean.  This seems obvious, but I can't count the number of
people that have contacted our shelter or me (or brought their ferret to
our shelter near death) with ECE ferrets that had been to a vet and were
never told to make sure the ferret gets nourishment.  Some have even been
given the advice that "he'll eat when he gets hungry enough." WRONG!  I've
seen Angela feed ECE ferrets that were near death and absolutely refused
food.  Their jaws clenched in a death grip, she'd spend 45 minutes getting
a few cc's of baby food into the ferret, but she never gave up until they
got some nourishment and this had to be repeated over and over again.  She
saved many a ferret that surely would have died otherwise.
 
Also keep in mind that dehydration will kill quicker than a lack of food,
so making sure that a ferret that is ill gets plenty of fluids is very
important too.  Chicken baby food, probably the best choice for ferrets
that aren't eating or have GI problems, has a fair amount of water in it,
so they may drink less, but one still has to make sure their fluid intake
is sufficient.  I've never cared for the "pinch test" for dehydration as it
is pretty open to interpretation.  "Hmmm, did that snap back fast enough or
not?" I like the gum test.  Run your finger along their gums.  They should
be moist and slippery (feel your own for a comparison... and I can just
picture everyone sticking their finger in their mouth right about now :-)).
Dry and sticky is no good.  If there is any doubt, contact your vet right
away.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael F. Janke, [log in to unmask]
* South Florida Ferret Help Line, 305-752-7040
*
* Website:  http://www.miamiferret.org
* Adrenal/Insulinoma web site: http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
[Posted in FML issue 3329]