1 teaspoon = 5ml or 5cc A large infant medicine dropper is 5ml, or one
teaspoon.
 
Just some general guidelines, nothing's etched in stone, all surgeries
and ferrets are individual & you should always keep a close eye on post
surgical eating and pooping and modify diet as necessary.
 
In my experience ferrets recover & resume normal eating routines much
quicker and with less stress if they are given NO MORE than 10ml of a
bland soup 6 to 8 hours after surgery (unless the surgery involves opening
the stomach or intestinal tract... then the first feeding should be
withheld for 10 to 12 hours or the next morning per vet's recommendation).
Some ferrets will even nibble a few hand-held pieces of dry kibble a few
hours after surgery.  If they will, great, let them eat up to 10 pieces,
and make sure they drink 5ml of water with it.  These are the ferrets that
will be bouncing and wardancing 3 days after surgery, if they get the
chance (a bounce or two is ok that soon, but don't let them overdo it!)
 
After the first bowel movement following surgery, they can be allowed to
eat as much as they want.  If they refuse normal dry kibble, they should
be given a minimum of 10ml of soup every three hours.  If they'll eat 15
or 20ml of soup that time can be stretched to every 4 hours.
 
An ideal soup is simply their regular food soaked in water and blended
with more water or watered down chicken baby food.  With kibble soup, the
taste is familiar and it's not as hard to get them back to their dry food.
 
If ferrets are given soup as an occasional treat when they're healthy, it
makes soup immensely more acceptable when they're sick... yes any and all
ferrets can be taught to like soup... just keep offering it, keep giving
them a taste of it... you have to be just as stubborn as they are.
 
Always try to get the ferret back to his usual routine, cage, cagemates,
play time as soon as possible... the next day, is not too soon as long as
cagemates are not too overexuberant and don't try to "groom" the patient's
stitches.  Sudden environment changes, like a "sick" cage, are VERY
stressfull to a ferret.  Stress increases recovery time and discourages
return to normal eating routine.
 
Please check the web site below for the "Supportive Care" article.
 
Debi Christy
Ferrets First Foster Home
 
Practical & easy training, care, & maintenance articles available at
http://www.geocities.com/ferretsfirst/
[Posted in FML issue 3657]