HI Pam:

This is a VERY serious condition that you need to get under control
immediately if at all possible, or it could suddenly and painfully
take his life.

What you MAY be describing is proliferative colitis, and I recently
lost my boy Dozer to this after he battled it for several months. It
usually afflicts younger ferrets, but on occasion can occur in older
ones (Dozer had just turned 4 years old). The last month before I had
to put him to sleep on Nov 20 was just horrible. I had two excellent
vets, plus another outstanding consulting vet, and we tried EVERYTHING,
including exploratory surgery and having two biopsies done. He had to
be on heavy pain meds for the last couple of weeks as we tried the last
treatments that we could think of, because when he wasn't well sedated,
all he did was try to squeeze and poop when there was nothing to
squeeze, to the point of physical exhaustion, and he was in clear pain
while doing so.

I can talk to you more privately if you'd like, but what I would
suggest is that you talk to your vets right away about trying
Chloramphenicol (twice daily) as an antibiotic, for at least a month,
and also using prednisolone (probably around 0.5 -- 0.75 mg twice
daily) to try to get the inflammation down and his colon back under
control. You may also need to use carafate to prevent further
ulceration from the condition and from the prednisolone.

This is a very serious condition that will not improve on its own and
could worsen suddenly to the point where you could lose him.

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 7285]