> Dr. Brawley this afternoon. I am really worried. Any advice would be
> appreciated. If anyone could give me some tips on how to syringe feed a
> ferret by myself, it would also be welcome.
 
 
Paula,
 
First of all, my sincerest best wishes for Persephone!  I know what
you are going through.  Try not to get too worried, she'll sense that
and it will only make her worried.  So do your best to not get
too upset around her.
 
The best way to get a ferret to take medicine/food from a syringe is
drop the stuff on the patch of skin right below the nose.  This usually
induces a licking response and there's very little stress involved.
 
Step two is to try that while scruffing her.
 
If it's really icky tasting stuff, or she's just refusing it, here's
what I did with Bree last time.  Scruff her firmly, and take the
filled syringe and apply a small amount of pressure at the very back
of her mouth.  This will cause her to open her mouth.  Put the syringe
in and squirt it into the back of her mouth.  (not too quickly, though)
The trick is to then keep her from spitting it out.  I was able to
keep the syringe between Bree's teeth and she had to swallow.  You
might also be able to hold her mouth shut.
 
If you want to contact me, give me a call at 215 255 4436.  I'm
not a vet, but maybe I can help you get the medicine down.  For
a sick ferret, you can call me anytime, day or night.
 
Good luck!
 
- Nancy
 
P.S.  This is to the Mailing list, not Paula - I do post my address
and phone number frequently.  I expect all of you are adult enough to
treat that information as it is intended.  So, I am *NOT* amused
by the person who sent me a chain letter recently!  I know that
you got my address here, because I'm sure that I don't know anyone
non-ferret related from the area where the letter was sent.
Granted, this was a very innoculous incident, but if I took
chain letters seriously, that would have been a large chunk of
time spent which could have been better spent elsewhere.  Grow
up.
 
[I should also point out that chain letters constitute fraud, and are
illegal, in both the US and Canada and probably a lot of other
places.  A word to the wise - unless you want visits from the FBI,
RCMP or (substitute your favourite federal law enforcement agency here),
don't be so stupid as to send chain letters.  They are and will be
stomped on firmly.  A number of people have had net access revoked
(or worse) thru the latest spate of USENET chain letters.  And I
was directly responsible for one of those revocations...  Only
temporary - he'll get access back in a week or so.  Ed.]
 
Nancy Hartman       Internet - [log in to unmask]        GEnie - n.hartman4
President, Delaware Valley Ferret Club | CIS Grad Student, U. of Delaware
      ***  Caregiver to Percy, Bree, & Popcorn, the ferrets  ***
  "We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals" - Kant
 
[Posted in FML issue 0528]