Laurie:

I can think of a few things that could be causing him to not want to
eat. One is nausea from the meds. The other is acid stomach possibly
caused by ulcers that are developing. Ulcers are all too common as a
secondary illness when a ferret is fighting some other disease, such
as insulinoma, adrenal disease, or heart disease. The stress on their
body from the primary illness or disease causes the heliobacter in
their digestive systems to multiply and become overbearing, which
begins to cause ulcers. This, in turn, causes a lot of excess stomach
acid, making them not want to eat.

I would suggest trying to give him some pepcid shortly before meals,
and try to give him frequent, smaller meals every 4 hours or so. For
the pepcid, take one 10-mg Pepcid AC tablet, which has 10-mg of
famotidine as the only active ingredient. Dilute the tablet in 4.0 ml
of pure water and store it in the fridge. Before each meal, give him
0.4 -- 0.5 ml of the pepcid solution. Mix well right before each use,
as the dissolved tablet tends to settle at the bottom.

Has his mouth and throat been checked by the vet for any possible loose
teeth, gingivitis, or throat ulceration? These could also cause a
ferret to not want to eat. A partial blockage of any sort would also be
painful and could cause excess bacteria build up in the same way that
an ulcer would.

Jeff
In Loving Memory of Neo, Trinity, Morphy, Dozer, Possum, Pip, Pop,
Sabrina, Minnie Mouse, Hunny, Misty, Frodo, Baggins, and Mr. Parker
Caring for Luna, Baby Girl, Boomer, and Zoomer 

[Posted in FML 7347]