Hi Tina,

I went through a similar experience with one of my ferrets. There's
normal gas, and then there's GAS, and he had GAS. For him, and for
another one of my ferrets who had it less badly, it was due to a
clostridium overbloom. He also threw up, just from the pressure in his
guts making him queasy, I think. We did an xray and his insides were
just full of gas bubbles--no blockage, just bubbles. I dearly wish I
could remember the name of the antibiotic that finally cleared it
up--it was a wide spectrum antibiotic that was effective against both
aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. It was off-label for ferrets, I do
recall that. If your vet hasn't done a fecal test, I would suggest
doing that to determine if there's any kind of persistent infection
that might need some bigger guns.

I say clostridium overbloom above because clostridium normally occurs
in the gut with no problem, but it can sometimes grow out of control.
Both of my ferrets who had issues with this also had irritable bowel
disorder; it makes sense that an unhealthy gut environment means the
natural balance of gut flora and fauna gets out of whack. I don't think
you mentioned whether an ultrasound has been done or not, but you might
want to get a better look at his intestinal walls to see if there's a
deeper root cause that can perhaps be treated.

good luck,

Regina

[Posted in FML 6618]