Barb wrote some really nice things about my vet:
>(As an aside to those of you who are also members of AFA--coincidentally
>the most recent issue of AMERICAN FERRET REPORT (Vol. 11 Number 1) which
>I *just* received two days ago has a wonderful photo review of an
>esophagostomy feeding tube placement--provided by Peter G. Fisher DVM
>(Virginia Beach VA).  Definitely worth a look to those interested in BEN's
>case.)
 
Barb - thats my vet!  Dr. Fisher and Dr. Hulls are absolutely fabulous
ferret-friendly vets!  This article seems like it was part 2 of 2 --in
the previous issue of the AFR(Nov/Dec 1999), he gave the entire procedure
from prep for surgery to placing the bandage around the feeding tube.
 
A feeding tube is a great tool when having difficulty feeding or keeping
weight on a ferret - I have one here now, Bandit, who has had a tube for
almost 14 days now.  Bandit is probably the 6th ferret that I have had
tubed, with almost always great success.  Bandit is a shelter kid, male
sable, about 5 or 6, with obvious adrenal gland symptoms.  He's the ferret
we had so much difficulty finding the right food for?  Well, that turned
out to be truly crap (G-whiskers cat food, a 3lb bag for $1.00) and even
after we did find the food, he continued to lose weight steadily.
 
He came into the shelter weighing 1150g, and in early January, had dropped
down to 850g.  Thats the day we found his 'regular food' and began free
feeding it to him.  His next visit, 10 days later, showed a continued
decline in weight - now 783g.  I was force feeding him to supplement, but
for whatever reason, he kept losing weight.  (the vet suspects a hairball
in there somewhere, but he wasn't a surgical candidate).  I had the vet
place the feeding tube the next day.
 
He's doing so much better now - he has gained back about 90g after a week
of eating and is much brighter and alert.I feed him a mix of A/D, baby
food and ensure, and for the first 10 days, I added heavy whipping cream.
Oh and tubes have another great use - medications!  No worries about how
something tastes with a tube!  <grin>
 
I will most likely leave the tube in place for another 2 or 3 weeks, to
get him back to his 'normal' weight and then schedule adrenal/insulinoma
surgery after that.  The longest I have ever had a tube in a ferret was
just under 6 weeks - and that was a ferret suffering from ECE back in 1996.
 
The biggest thing to watch out for when tube feeding -- is flush the tube
thoroughly before and after feeding - a blocked tube is big trouble!
Also, be careful of the ferret snagging the end that protrudes over the
head...those special ferreticorn ferrets!  The only other difficulty that I
have ever had with feeding tubes is that sometimes the ferret forgets what
its like to eat -- so I always have food available in the cage -- and as
they get better, cut down on the amounts I feed and the frequency of the
feedings.
 
Lisa Leidig, Head Ferret
The Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea"
http: www.ferrethaven.org
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[Posted in FML issue 2949]