To Troy Lynn:
 
>EAD THIS - During surgery both boys vomited.  I did as I normally do before
>surgery, fed them and took all food away at 4:00 a.m.  which would be 5
>hours before surgery.  The ferrets were tubed but Petey may have aspirated.
>Dr. Snyder was very concerned. ... I don't understand why, when the
>digestive process is suppose to be 3-4 hours in ferrets, there was food
>still in their tummies (both boys had full tummies) 5 hours later.  Vets?
 
TL:
 
I wouldn't change your schedule.  You've hit a bad spell here, but you've
done plenty of surgery before.  The transit time in ferrets is (give or
take) 4 hours.  Usually food exits the stomach within 1-2 hours.  I'm not
sure why it sat in the stomach for 5 hours here - could be exercise, stress-
both of these normally delay the movement of food through the stomach.  Why
this would happen overnight, I can't tell you.
 
Your vet may want to try a small amount of atropine prior to surgery.
Usually this is not necessary, but it will lessen the chances of vomiting
during surgery.
 
But you're right on the rapid transit time of food through the ferret GI
tract.  This is the reason why they need free access to to food at all
times, and often eat 4-6 times per day.  Don't starve them going into
surgery.....
[Posted in FML issue 1672]