The poster noted that the TREATING VETERINARIAN wanted this done
because of an ulcer. That is a reasonable call. The infection risk from
raw food can be greatly increased by an ulcer, and it is not unusual to
hear about vets wanting ferrets switched away from raw foods whenever
there is anything that might make it harder to fight an infection,
easier to get an infection (such as being on chemo or on any immune
suppressant medications), and for other reasons that increase risk
rates.

The poster who responded must have missed that because I doubt that
anyone would want to encourage such a risk. Hey, we all get extra busy
at times and skim, or sometimes even hear about something second hand
without seeing the original post and then the person relaying the
message too often may leave out important factors. (Life can be a lot
like that children's game of Telephone with the whispered message
changing as it goes down the line.)

The poster wrote:
>My ferret, 3 months old, has developed a really bad ulcer.

Now, why the ulcer began I don't know. I'm not there and I'm not a
veterinarian. Helicobacter mustela is a primary cause in ferrets but
certainly they have happened from mechanical causes, too, like
materials that are too rough, and probably for yet more reasons. What I
am more concerned about is keeping the ferret healthy and safer during
a time when it is more vulnerable to infection while it heals (and
certainly more at risk from serious bleeding), and hope that the
ferret is on a logical course of action designed for the specific
circumstances such as liquid Carafate perscription that is available
from any pharmacy (given at a different time from other meds and not
given with foods so that it can settle into the wound instead of
coating particles) and whichever other medications this case needs,
whether that includes antacids or the antibiotic combo of Amoxi and
Biaxin to tackle Helicobacter, or whatever else. There is a lot about
people's experiences with treating ulcers in the separate FHL Archives
(addy in my sig lines) that Pam and Eric Sessoms so kindly keep safe
and handy. Someone else has sweetly kept a private file in the past,
too, in case an emergency happens to the original but I don't know if
I am allowed to say who that is.

In this case it really (really, really, really) seems best to follow
the recommendations of the treating veterinarian who KNOWS THIS ANIMAL
and has first hand experience with this ferret rather than anyone's
long distance opinion. If the vet thinks that this one's ulcer creates
an increased infection risk then it simply makes sense to follow the
vet's advice.

Changing a diet typically involves gradual combinations of foods given,
and you might also want to try introducing some of the very high
quality kibbles like Totally Ferret products by hand giving them piece
by piece to the ferret as a treat. If the ferret has never had kibble
you might need to mash some of it up at first and put it in the
ferret's mouth -- pretty well the reverse (but same approach)of how
many introduce ferrets to raw with a slurry of the raw put into the
mouth.

We've often found that using ferrets' own behavior helps. They LOVE to
have their secrets so at times we make them paper bags (usually lunch
size ones) with some kibble in those -- but we are very, very careful
to so when and where the ferret can NOT observe us doing it and to
touch with our hands as little as possible to keep our scents reduced
on it, in other words letting it be the ferret's "secret" that we
"don't know about". We allow the ferret to think it is secret until
the ferret allows us to observe eating that food. That approach has
never failed to get our ferrets back on kibble after surgery, for
example, but it has to be done in a way where the ferret really
feels like the ferret has a secret for however long that takes.

I am sure that others here will be happy to give advice on how they
change a ferret from ANY type of diet to ANY another. Modifications of
each of those tips can be adjusted to whichever type of food to which
someone is switching a ferret.

Seriously, though, veterinarians know things that the rest of us do not
know, and the treating veterinarian knows this ferret and the ferret's
particulars. No matter what anyone's personal choices are it is only
logical to respect that.

Every type of diet has its upsides and downsides, and each individual
ferret has individual needs which can change over time.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
HAPPY:
http://www.6footsix.com/my_weblog/2010/01/high-fives-for-happiness.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 6614]