Have a couple of comments on Bob's post. And yes, they are disagreements.
 
>I will probably come into come confict with people on this, but I NEVER
>force liquid food down ferret's throats.  If I think a ferret is so ill and
>dehydrated that they need fluid, I am off to the vet for an inspection.
 
This I fully agree with. If you have a sick animal, it should see a doctor.
 
>If, with the vet's approval, fluids need to be given, I have the vet (or
>myself with the vet's knowledge) give them sub-q.
 
In some cases, giving fluids orally is preferred.  You can drown an animal
giving sub-q fluids, if you give too much too quickly.  You don't run the
same risk giving fluids orally.  I was told this by a vet when I had to
give large amounts of fluid to compensate for a ferret chronically
dehydrated from ece.
 
>Here's the problem.  Ferrets, like all animals, have an instinctual need
>to eat enough to>maintain metabolic needs and drink enough to maintain
>body fluids.
 
I agree with this also, with a lot of caveats.
 
>The point is the ferret knew what to do.
 
I don't agree with this.  You seem to equate going off food as a problem
with intestines or such.  I have seen both cats and ferrets go off food
for several days due to a nasty head cold.  There was no other reason for
them not eating.  Since you yourself have posted extensively on olfactory
imprinting, I would think you would understand this.  If they don't smell
the food, they don't eat.
 
And if they don't eat long enough (few days), they can set up what is known
as fatty liver disease.  The liver stops working correctly due to lack of
food intake.  It can kill an animal rather quickly.
 
>A little lactated ringers given just under the skin, maybe some mild
>antibiotics, and the problem is solved.  The ferret can get on with
ruining your carpet, and in a day or so most will start wanting to eat.
 
This is definitely NOT TRUE for all intestinal virus.  Especially ece.  I
have dealt with enough ece cases and understand that, even in a perfectly
healthy animal, it can become life threatening, even under close
veterinarian care.  I almost lost Stan to it, ALL WHILE GIVING HIM
ANTIBIOTICS, FLUIDS, FOOD, AND ANTI-DIARRHEL DRUGS.  With almost daily
trips to the vets.  Stan lost half his weight during this.  The vet's ran
out of options.  She credited herbal treatments that I tried out of
desperation for curing his ece.  None of the drugs she gave him worked
at all.
 
>But not all.  Some will have to be hand-fed and here is where I will come
>into conflict again with some people.  I don't give my ferrets duck soup.
>I give some feline A&D when I have it, but mostly I just give them Gerber's
>chicken baby food straight out of the jar.  Its pasty, it sticks well to
>your finger and they lick it off.
 
My duck soup is based on baby food.  But I add several supplements to it,
including vitamins and oil, along with ferretvite to boost the nutrition.
I simply don't have the time to sit and let a ferret lick minute amounts
of food off my finger every two hours.  I wished I had the same luxury you
seem to have, but not all of us do.  I do use a infant medicinal dropper
to give food, that way you don't "shoot" it down the throat as with a
syringe.It gives you a lot more control when feeding.
 
>When, on the rare occasion I use a syringe, it is to dispense the stuff to
>the tip of the ferret's tongue;I NEVER squirt the stuff inside the mouth
>where it could be accidentally inhaled.
 
Every vet I know has advocated force feeding for sick animals.  You
sometimes have to do it to ward off the fatty liver problem and also to
stimulate them to want to eat.  Sometimes it has to be done.  I am
surprised that you aren't aware a very basic way to prevent food
aspiration.  It simple involves holding the neck of the animal in a more
natural position.  If you hold the neck straight up, there is more of a
chance for food to be aspirated.  I learned this 20 years or so ago from
a vet.
 
I will ask for a lot of folks on this list, exactly what qualifies you to
give out all this nutritional information and medical advice on ferrets?
I looked up your listing on the school web pages and you are listed as a
master's candidate in the anthropology department.  I am honestly wondering
if this would give you any actual *training* (outside of lay experience as
a ferret care giver) for animal nutrition.
 
Bob, I know you are an educated owner and lay person.  But you often come
off like a scientist specializing in ferret care.  I do not believe this to
be the case and I think it would benefit all the readers of this forum to
understand exactly what credentials you have.  Have you taken any courses
in animal biology or veterinarian care?  Or any other related subjects?
 
And I would like to publicly thank you for all the wonderful information,
even if I sometimes have problems with it.
 
Mo' Maggie and her Maniac Mustelid Mob of Munchers
[Posted in FML issue 3027]