To all,
 
I would like some advice on this problem OTHER THAN going to VET
immediately.  I still don't have one i trust.  Though I loved the last
one personally--he loves ferrets; takes time to answer all questions--
he is barely 2 yrs out of vet school, has very few ferret patients and
is only in the office 2-3 days per week.  Now that Rocky is 4, I would
feel more comfortable with a vet who is more experienced at surgery.
 
It does not seem to be an emergency at this time.
 
About a week ago, Rocky made a big fruit heist from the garbage, which
is behind closed doors but perhaps not pushed in all the way (though
not open).  I found the banana peel, but nothing else.  I saw weird
stuff--probably cores, seeds, skins, most likely apple or pear, possibly
tangerine.  Poops looked strange, he stopped eating regular food in dish
but would accept chicken gravy, any treat, egg yolk, cooked chicken.
But he would not eat for 24 hrs on several occasions because he's still
eating the junk.  When he eats real food, his poops are normal.  Once or
twice, they were skinny like a partial blockage, but then they'd return
to normal.  Once he ate kibble out of his bowl; once or twice he accepted
it from my hand or when I throw it in boxes as though it were a treat.
Everytime I see a weird poop I give him the laxative stuff; also have
been giving him some Ferretvite.  He vomited once a couple of days ago,
but acted fine right after.
 
His behavior has not changed; he's alert, active, athletic, mischievous,
curious.
 
Yesterday (among other times) I dissected his poop and it didn't look
like fruit scraps (I am hoping he's finished them all) but it did have
hair in is--his dark guard hairs and some of MY hair--which is blonde and
fairly long.  I combed him to see if he's shedding but little undercoat
came out.  I used my lint brush next, which picked up guard hairs.
 
Now that it seems the fruit is gone, I can't figure out for the life of
me what he's eating.  He used to be a big cloth eater when younger, but
now he seems to only eat towels (which are out of his reach) and his
little ferret-sized oriental rug, which is no longer under his sleep
sack once I discovered it.
 
At first I thought he was sick of his food, which happens about once a
year, and he loved the sample of Path Valley Chicken & Rice, so I ordered
some.  I put it in his dish with his other food and he won't eat it.  He
will eat it if given as a treat.
 
Does anyone have any ideas, suggestions about this?
 
If it continues, I will bring him to yet another vet (#5) who's SUPPOSED
to be good, but at a practice I don't particularly like for reasons I
won't get into.  It's where he first saw Dr. Cain in NYC, when he was a
kit and when he left the state, I went to another vet because I didn't
like the other vet Rocky saw at that practice.  He is now 4 yrs old, and
other than a few potential blockages which he eventually got out one way
or the other, he has been healthy.
 
Please email me as I have been ill and cannot always read all the lists.
 
Thanks so much,
Shron & Rocky
--It's a good thing he doesn't have other ferrets to help him in his
"heists" since he's so good at it himself.  LOL He would surely be the
ring leader and the brains behind it; also very strong physically and
so cunning.
[Posted in FML issue 4800]