Well, I made my first post the other day and I had a few questions but now I
feel like I'm becoming a pain!  Casey is sick and I could use some advice
from the vets as to whether I'm doing the right thing.  I hope my story will
help some of you though.
 
My husband and I went away for the weekend and left Casey, our 5 month old
female, an only ferret, in her cage, although a friend of ours came over
twice (hopefully) to let her out to play.  We got home Sunday night and
Casey was sooooo hyper.  What fun!  Well, on Monday morning Casey was
extremely lethargic and didn't want to wake up to play which is unusual for
her.  She moped around for 20 minutes or so and then fell asleep under the
bed.  I was worried but I left for work and came home early.  That afternoon
wasn't any better.  I took her to a softball game and she was awake for a
while but not energetic.  We thought maybe she was just off schedule from
being in her cage all weekend.
 
Tuesday morning was similar and I was watching her stools which looked
normal but then suddenly one was a little darker than usual which I then
read in the FAQ could mean blood in the digestive system.#004# Last night
when I got home from work there was almost no stool in her litterbox so I
was freaking out.  I was thinking BLOCKAGE so I called the animal hospital
and the wait would be three hours so I just watched her carefully all night
instead.  I didn't sleep at all and this morning (Wed) I made an appointment.
 
Well, in getting ready to bring her to the vet, I cleaned her food dish out.
It has two sections for food/water.  I poured out the food to give her fresh
stuff and some of it stuck to the bottom corner.  I picked it out and
underneath the clump was a ton of green/white MOLD!  I don't know exactly
how that happened, however prior to leaving for the weekend we brought her
with us to a party.  When we take her in the travel cage the water in the
dish sometimes splashes.  I should have changed the food after that but I
didn't realize that it would get soooo bad soooo fast.  I didn't even think
about it, honestly.  I don't know when exactly she stopped eating, but it
was probably Sunday which would be my guess for how long it would take for
the food to get moldy.
 
When I gave her fresh food by hand this morning she took a piece and went
under the bed and ATE!  I gave her several pieces and she ate them (in her
secret hiding places.
 
I took her to the vet anyway, and she agreed that she probably will be fine
but she gave her ulcer medication anyway because of the black stools.  If
she doesn't get better I'll get an X-ray in case our diagnosis is wrong.
 
I feel like a horrible mommy, it's my first pet and first ferret and I've
only had her two months.  I have tried reading all I can so I won't screw up
and I read the FML every day.  But I screwed up and I feel horrible!
 
So, make sure to clean your food dishes often!
 
By the way, I hadn't been to this vet before, but I heard she was a
specialist in "exotic pets".  I'm so glad I found her because she was
wonderful.  She checked everything, including for ear mites.  (She said
Casey's ears were really clean, and I boasted about having just cleaned them
the other day!) The first vet I went to for shots didn't do anything at all
and I had wanted an entire check-up.  So if anyone is in the Boston/Brookine
area and would like a referral, I would be happy to give you one.
 
- Adrienne and Casey
 
Casey:  "This food stinks, can I have fresh stuff?  I scattered my food all
over the cage and floor so you would notice, you dumb mommy!"
[Posted in FML issue 1668]