Aaarrrrrgh!  I didn't think I had all that many ferrets until they all got
rainbow runs!  They're taking turns (some are taking two or three turns)
throwing up all over the place and projectile pooping!  I call it rainbow
runs because I've seen everything from dark brown and pure liquid to almost
white.  I've seen dark brown/green, dark green, yellow, white ...
 
It all started with Gypsy.  I thought she'd thrown up because she was upset
that Cal was dragging her around by her scruff.
 
Two days later Pepper threw up, had huge volumes of blood-tinged runs and
spent the evening wretching and heaving.  If he'd so much as take a drink
of water, he was heaving.  Poor thing!  I was so horribly worried because
he's the one who had adrenal surgery a couple months ago and it was
cancerous.  I took him to the vet and he said it wasn't coccidia and gave
me a tube of laxative in case he ate something he shouldn't have.  I didn't
give it to him right away because I honestly didn't think it was a
blockage.  I needed to have the laxative anyway.  He also gave him a water
shot.
 
Saturday morning there was no more throwing up, but lots of poop.  Then
Katie started throwing up all over her cage (Pepper is alone in a cage.
Gypsy, Katie, Max, Bumper and Cal are in one big cage and Champ, Dozer and
Monty are in another cage.) I also noticed a couple loose poops in the big
cage.
 
I gave Pepper a water shot Saturday and Sunday. Sunday night, Monty got the
runs.
 
This has been awful!  They're pooping straight out the side of their cages!
Projectile poop!  There were streams of it on the floor around the cage, on
the wall, even on the stereo speaker!  Eeek.  My kitchen is totally torn
apart and I have no easy way to wash this up!  There has been no new
outbreaks of throwing up, but lots of poop.  Monty had a particularly
green, mucousy poop but hasn't had another one like that.  I'm giving
Kaopectate to the ones I knew had the runs and I'm watching for
dehydration.  Last night I spent hours cleaning things up and I installed
cardboard "back shields" on the litterboxes.  It's still going to be a
pain to clean (oh yuck ... green icky stuff on the bars of the cage!) but
at least it won't get all over my carpet!
 
This is definitely not ECE ... *I* was/am sick, too, but with a cold-type
flu. I'm going nuts. Aside from Pedialyte and Kaopectate, does anyone have
suggestions?
 
--Barb--
[Posted in FML issue 2461]