Hi Jennifer -

Piggy backing the good advice of others, I would add that you might
want to put some slippery elm bark powder in his food.

Slippery elm bark is a mucilage - slightly sweet - that coats the
tissues and soothes irritated tissue. Many ferrets don't want to eat
as they have developed mouth ulcers and it's painful to eat. We like
it best in bulk powder form, but have also seen in capsules you can
open and sprinkle into the food. Use sparingly as it soaks up liquid
and turns into a glue consistency. Check local health food stores or
available on the web as well.

It was a native American remedy - you can't overuse it - completely
harmless to pets and humans. I purchase sore throat tablets made of
slippery elm at my local health food store, and can attest that they
do a far better job and are far less stomach wrenching than the usual
OTC human meds. It's very gentle and soothing and you don't get that
yucky tummy feeling from taking too many.

For ferrets that haven't eaten in some time we sometimes "prime" them
for food with a bit of slippery elm bark powder and water and they will
learn to lap that up first before we gradually add their powdered food
in. (The finger technique works best and we resort to "scruff and
stuff" only in extreme cases).

Carnivore care also seems to be far less irritating to the mouth and
throat tissues.

Good luck!

Ann Gruden
Ferret Assn of CT

[Posted in FML 5684]