>This past Labor day week end I noticed he was once again not eating and
>drinking and grinding his teeth as he was in Feb.... He has an ulcer again
>only this time here is it four weeks later and he still wont eat his
>regular ferret food or drink on his own.  I am now wondering if ulcers can
>re-occur this quickly and if they don't respond to the meds then what can
>be done?
>
>...If anyone knows of a medicine that might work better please email me
>privately the name.  I appreciate all of your help and support..Oh one
>last thing the name of the medicine he was on for his ulcer is or was as
>he has nor more left is : metronidazole ..
 
Dear Michelle:
 
Gastric ulcers are a stress-related problem in ferrets that often tend to
recur - this recurrence is not unusual, nor is there any medication that
will cure it for good.  What we try to do is get them to heal and reduce
the possibility for them to develop in the future.
 
You are confusing treatment for Helicobacter (amoxi, metronidazole, and
Pepto) for treatment for gastric ulcers.  While in older animals I may
treat for both concurrently, these days I try to concentrate on treating
the ulcers first - usually with a bland diet and a drug called Sucralfate
(which is given ten minutes prior to eating and which fills up the holes in
the stomach, allowing the animal to eat without pain.) As bleeding gastric
ulcers may be life threatening, I concentrate on eliminating the ulcers
first, and the bacteria later on.
 
If you are still seeing grinding teeth after a month, then you haven't
cured the ulcer.  As ferrets hate both Pepto and Metronidazole, simply the
act of administering it may be stressing your ferrets to the point where
additional ulcers are forming.  In such cases, I generally stop all of
the meds and go with a bland diet - NOT rushing the regular food - which
is tough to digest and use the sucralfate - which ferrets don't mind.
 
Another problem that may be compounding your problem is that sick ferrets
often like to be hand fed.  Sometimes it's a behavioral need for comfort
and attention that is difficult to break.
 
You can find out more about gastric ulcers at http://www.afip.org/ferrets
 
With kindest regards,
 
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3181]