We have a ferret, Pug, a small female who is about 4 years old.  We
purchased 2 ferrets from a ferret shelter in Denver and Pug immediately
developed a greenish, watery stool.  At first we thought that she was just
stressed, but it lasted, so we took her to our vet who specializes in
ferrets.  Suspecting ECE virus, he gave her antibiotics (for a secondary
infection) and prescribed plenty of fluids (she had become dehydrated and
had lost weight).  He stressed giving her an electrolytic fluid, such as
Pedialyte (often given to children for diarrhea), rather than just water
(this replaces ions in the blood like potassium, magnesium, sodium,
calcium-- much like Gatorade).  He also suggested giving Pug Ensure with a
syringe for calories.  He said to give her a mixture of 50% Ensure and 50%
Pedialyte.  I feel as if these suggestions have saved her life, for Pug has
gained weight and has a lot more energy.  I just wanted to pass this
information along in case no one else has given these suggestions before (I
am a new subscriber).
 
We have 5 ferrets: Pug, P.C.  (for polecat), Taffy (blind), Lily, and
Darwin.  P.C.  is recovering well from adrenal surgery.  Lily and Darwin are
new ferrets to our house and have not been accepted at all by Pug or Taffy,
our 2 older females!  Hopefully, they all will get along in time.
 
                                Paula Hansley
[Posted in FML issue 1676]