Helping Your Hurt Ferret: First-Aid Basics

 

In This Chapter

• Previewing a ferret’s minor afflictions
• Acting in the event of an emergency
• Caring for your fuzzy in-house
• Arranging a room for your sick ferret
• Getting your sick ferret to eat

You must face the facts: Your little ferret friend is (or will be) a trouble magnet. No matter how much you love him or how much money you spend on preventive care, your ferret will eventually test your first-aid knowledge and your ability to work under severe emotional duress. Even if you keep your ferret confined to a cage all day and night (Caution: The ferret patrol and I will hunt you down and pummel you if you do!), you’ll still have a misfortune here or there. And even the sweetest, most innocent ferret may have a mishap through no fault of his own.

This chapter covers the process of providing immediate first aid. I discuss how to identify and fix an easy problem and how to control a difficult one until your fuzzy can receive care from a medical professional. I explain how you can manage your fuzzy’s pain during injury or illness situations. And I go through the steps you can take during your ferret’s recovery to keep him comfortable and nourished. (The other chapters in Part IV explain the serious diseases and illnesses you may come across and how you can treat them.)

Behaviors You Usually Don’t Need to Worry About

You’ll be happy to read that some funky ferret behaviors are normal. Like a grown man scratching his belly and dealing with indigestion after Thanksgiving dinner and then falling asleep during a football game, ferrets have a few peculiar behaviors that may startle you at first. Don’t be alarmed. Many of the behaviors I list in the following sections often are harmless, and with the information here, you’ll be prepared to deal with them and even predict their onset.

Shivering

Ferrets shiver for many reasons, but most of the reasons are simple and harmless. All ferrets shiver to raise their body temperature, which is necessary after sleeping more than half the day away! Shivering is a natural and effective temperature-raising method. Many also shiver when being scruffed. You may want to give a little bottom support to your shivering fuzzy in a scruffing situation (see Chapter Introducing Fuzzy to His New Family). Frightened ferrets rarely shiver, but excited ferrets often do. If you suspect that your ferret’s shivering is due to something other than these reasons, consult your veterinarian (for info on finding a qualified vet, refer to Chapter Setting Up Your Ferret’s Health Plan: Vets and First-Aid Kits).

Itching and scratching

Ferrets are itchy critters, plain and simple. They’ll sometimes awaken from a deep sleep just to feverishly scratch a sudden itch, and then they’ll roll over and fall back to sleep. Or they’ll stop in the middle of a mad dash across the room to scratch an itch. If you watch your ferret itch and scratch long enough, you’ll begin to itch and scratch, too, because it makes most people paranoid about fleas. But scratching often is harmless and mainly annoying for the fuzzy.

Remember

If you do notice reddened areas, bumps, sores, or missing fur, explore your ferret’s environment, such as his bedding and what it was last washed in. Consider that skin tends to dry out a little during the colder months. And although uncommon, fuzzies can have allergies. Sometimes, too much scratching can lead to raw spots that you may need to treat topically. If this is the case, see your vet. If you’ve ruled out fleas and no fur is missing, you can probably chalk up the scratching to a typical ferret quirk.

Yawning

Yawning is such a common ferret quirk that ferret enthusiasts have yawning contests (see Chapter Enrichment: Yours and Your Ferret’s)! I don’t know why furkids yawn, but they do, and they do so frequently. Maybe it has something to do with how much sleep ferrets indulge in. Plus, scruffed ferrets are particularly vulnerable to yawning attacks. Although the effect of all the yawns seems nonexistent, people watching can be enticed into their own yawning attacks. I yawn as I write this!

Excessive sleeping

Sleeping excessively is common in ferrets, so don’t take it as a sign that you’re a complete bore. Sometimes, ferrets can sleep so hard that it appears they’re in a coma or even dead. The fuzzies are warm and breathing, but they just won’t wake up!

If you’re a concerned mom or dad and insist on making sure that fuzzball is alive, you can try a few proven techniques. Start with the first and continue through the list:

1. Lift him up and call his name loudly.
2. Give his back or belly a few good rubs, but don’t shake him violently.
3. Scratch him between the ears.
4. Scruff (see Chapter Introducing Fuzzy to His New Family) and wiggle him a bit if he still hasn’t responded.
5. Put a dab of his favorite treat on his nose (see Chapter Filling Your Ferret’s Belly). The smell should get his little brain going; if not, he’s probably sick.
6. As a last resort, you can rub a small amount of Nutri-Cal or Karo syrup on his gums.

Usually, this deep sleep (referred to as SND [Sleeping Not Dead]) is normal. When the ferret finally raises an eyelid to inspect the rude gate-crasher, you can rest assured that he’s okay. You can play with the fuzzy a bit if you still feel the need to reassure yourself. It’s taken almost a full minute to wake up one or two of my guys on some occasions, and it still scares the beans out of me. If an SND situation occurs frequently with the same ferret, a trip to the vet may be a wise idea. (Chapter Enrichment: Yours and Your Ferret’s discusses enrichment, which may lessen the amount of sleep your fuzzy needs, along with the proper diet [see Chapter Filling Your Ferret’s Belly].)

Warning!

Although ferrets do sleep quite a bit, and some even enter the deep SND mode, be aware of sudden changes in your furkid’s sleeping patterns. If he starts to sleep more often than usual, he may be giving you a sign of an underlying medical condition. Don’t ignore sudden changes in behavior, because he may require immediate medical attention.

Sneezing, hiccuping, and coughing

With all the maladies fuzzies can get, you’d think sneezing, coughing, and hiccuping would be some more things to worry about. Not so. These conditions often are harmless and even useful for the fuzzy. Fuzzballs get around by sense of smell. If you watch closely, you’ll see that your exploring ferret has his nose to the ground almost all the time. In the process, he’s inhaling everything from dust bunnies to carpet fibers. He’s bound to snort up bits and pieces of junk, and sneezing is the only way to clear his nose of it. When the sneezing attack is over, it’s nose to the ground again.

Ferrets sometimes cough or hack as though they have something stuck in their throats. It’s common and, more often than not, harmless. Coughing usually is a sign of a minor irritation to the throat or the reaction to a piece of kibble the fuzzy swallowed too quickly. If the coughing persists, though, contact your vet. Persistent coughing can also be a sign of several illnesses, including cardiomyopathy, so take note of how much coughing your fuzzy does and take him to see the vet. Better safe than sorry.

Hiccuping is a common and harmless fuzzy condition that results from the spasming of the ferret’s diaphragm. In ferrets, hiccuping seems random and more of a bother to them than a condition to worry about. In humans, hiccuping often is a result of too much beer! Try giving your ferret a little lick of Ferretone or Nutri-Cal to try to shorten the duration of the hiccuping.

Butt dragging

The skid marks your ferret leaves behind after he uses the bathroom are more than pretty decorations. They’re ferret proclamations! Ferrets like to use butt dragging to tell other animals, including humans, where they’ve been and what their territorial boundaries are. Although the butt dragging may not actually leave a visual trail, you can bet your bottom dollar that he’s left a scent behind. Not to worry; you may not notice the smell at all, but other ferrets and animals will smell it loud and clear.

A suckler
Some fuzzies, as with many cats and kittens, find comfort in sucking on something soft — especially when they’re falling asleep. (After all, their thumbs have sharp nails at the end.) This sucking behavior is common in animals that are separated from their mothers at an early age.	Some ferrets view the ears of other ferrets as pacifiers. If the recipient of the ear sucking doesn’t mind, and his ear doesn’t become raw and irritated, you can consider the sucking cute and not a problem. You should, however, offer an alternative, such as a safe baby toy.
Quick FAQS on healthy ferrets
Vets talk about the following ferret basics all the time, so get to know them to keep up with the conversation — at least a little: Normal body temperature: 100–103°F (37.8–39.4°C), with 101.9°F as the average	Normal heart rate: 200 to 400 beats per minute Normal respiration: 33 to 36 breaths per minute

If your fuzzy’s butt dragging seems unusually lengthy or if he does it more and more frequently, you can have your vet check him for parasites or other conditions that may be causing discomfort.

Tip

Because most ferrets in the United States are descented, they don’t leave much of a scent, but they still display the behavior. These ferrets are primarily trying to leave anal gland scent, not feces. Still, the scent trail is there. After all, a butt’s a butt.

Drinking urine

No one knows for sure why some adorable little fuzzies engage in the obnoxious practice of urine drinking. Maybe they just want to gross us humans out. It may be a sexual behavior. Some fuzzy experts believe that drinking urine is just another way for a thirsty ferret to consume liquid. If you want to curtail the activity, make sure that enough water is always available.

Honestly, although it seems disgusting to us, urine drinking is common for a ferret. It’s a harmless act, unlike drinking too much beer, because urine is sterile, so ferrets aren’t consuming a bunch of bacteria.

Pain Management and Care

Ferrets are quite the troopers! Their little bodies go through so much, and they put up a tremendous fight to live during even the most difficult of times. But ferrets, like so many other animals, are stoic creatures. They hide their pain in order to hide their “weaknesses,” which would surely be death sentences in the wild. But if you know your ferret well (and make an effort to from the very first day you get him), you’ll be able to tell that he’s in pain, and there’s no reason at all he needs to live that way.

Determining if your ferret is in pain

Couple the warning signs in the following list with your intimate knowledge of your fuzzy (or your fledgling knowledge) to tell if your ferret is in pain:

• Facial expression: Squinting, muscles twitching on the top of his head, tooth grinding, dull eyes
• ppetite: Reduced or absent appetite, dropping food from the mouth, difficulty swallowing, standing over food dish but not eating, selecting only soft foods
• Posture: Tucked abdomen, lying on side with no ability to get up, inability to stretch out or curl up
• Activity: Gait abnormalities (limping, holding limbs up, or dragging), restricted movement, trembling
• Grooming: Failure to groom himself, poor coat appearance, excessive licking or scratching
• Self-awareness: Protecting a body area, licking or chewing a body area
• Vocalization: Crying or moaning periodically, vocalizing when defecating, urinating, or moving
• Attitude: Unusual aggression, hiding more than usual, seeking comfort, bristling tail with depressed behavior, dull or uninterested attitude toward surroundings
• Response to being touched: Protective, vocalizing, escaping, biting

Remember

Some of the signs and behaviors in the previous list, while generally associated with pain, aren’t solely indicators of pain. Some can be signs of other conditions. It all depends on your fuzzy. Pain can elicit extreme behaviors at opposite ends of the spectrum. Your ferret’s pain may cause him to act unusually needy and seek comfort from you. Another ferret in pain may hide and isolate himself more than usual. No matter what, if any of the listed signs are present, you can assume that something abnormal is going on. A call and visit to your vet are warranted.

Caring for a ferret in pain

You have many options to manage your ferret’s pain, and fortunately the list is growing. Managing pain will keep your ferret comfortable and help him recover from surgery, illness, or injury. Pain management during and after surgery or for an injury or chronic illness should always be a part of routine supportive care. Speak to your vet about it to set up a pain management regimen.

Remember

You’ll know the pain management regimen you and your vet have chosen is working when the signs of pain begin to alleviate and your ferret starts to act more like himself. If, however, the signs continue or worsen, you need to contact your vet immediately to discuss a change of plans.

The following list presents some of the most common pain medications currently used on ferrets:

• OPIOIDS: Examples include buprenorphine, butorphanol, hydromorphone, and oxymorphone, and all are injections. These drugs are very effective for moderate to severe acute, post-surgical, or traumatic pain. They have a wide range of length of effectiveness, depending on which drug is used. Mild to profound sedation may accompany the treatment — the latter being a benefit if the pain is severe or a hindrance if you want to assess the level of pain. These drugs aren’t good for chronic pain.
• NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs): Examples include meloxicam, carprofen, ketoprofen, ibuprofen, and aspirin. These oral medications have anti-inflammatory, pain-reducing, and fever-reducing properties. They can be effective for some types of acute and chronic pain. NSAIDs aren’t recommended for ferrets that are pregnant, in shock, have stomach ulcers, or have kidney or liver disease. NSAIDs may also worsen gastritis.
• Local anesthetics: Examples include lidocaine and bupivicaine. Vets use these drugs during surgery at the incision site to help block localized pain. Local anesthetics are short-term pain killers administered by injection only.

Warning!

Tylenol (acetaminophen) is extremely toxic to your ferret, even in very low doses. It’s metabolized by the liver and will send your ferret reeling into liver failure quickly before killing him.

Tip

Many fuzzy owners and vets explore alternative pain-management techniques, such as the following:

• Acupuncture, which can be very effective at managing certain types of pain
• Chiropractic care, which is limited to managing pain of the musculoskeletal system
• Herbal/homeopathic care, which may reduce some pain and anxiety. (Note: This option should be used only under the guidance of a veterinary professional who’s familiar with the use of herbal/homeopathic medicine and its side effects.)

Use these options only under the direction and with the guidance of your trusted veterinarian (see Chapter Setting Up Your Ferret’s Health Plan: Vets and First-Aid Kits).

Setting Up Fuzzy’s Home Hospital Room

You can do non-medical things right at home to help alleviate anxiety and pain in your ferret. One of the most important parts of your ferret’s treatment occurs during aftercare, which is where most of the problems begin and end. You can’t become lax when your ferret needs special care that’s critical to his health. Whether your ferret is injured, sick, recovering from surgery, or just plain elderly, you need to give special attention to the old and infirmed. Under the direction of your vet, you need to give medication exactly as prescribed, provide assisted feedings routinely, administer fluids when necessary, and so on.

And you have another critical step to take to get your ferret back to his old self: Make sure he has private space to which he can retreat:

• House him comfortably and in a quiet area.
• Be sure that no other ferrets, pets, or children can bother him.
• Keep his handling to a minimum, and keep it slow and easy.

Most post-surgical, critically ill, elderly, or injured ferrets have limited mobility or are prescribed restricted mobility by vets. The latter is for their safety while they heal and recover. Regardless of what your ferret’s story is, he needs a hospital cage setup. Here’s what you’ll need:

• One cage approximately 2.5'-wide x 2'-deep x 2'-tall

The cage should have easy access to move in and out and have a big enough spot for a small litter box. It can have a small ramp leading to a low shelf, but a single story is preferable (see Chapter Home Sweet Home: Preparing Your Ferret’s Quarters).

• One small litter box
• Litter or shredded newspaper (for ferrets with incisions)
• A water bottle or water bowl

Use a water bottle if your ferret is drinking on his own; a water bowl if he’s too weak to use a bottle.

• Food dish (if he’s eating on his own)
• Plenty of fluffy bedding
• His favorite toys

Remember

Your ferret needs to feel safe and comfortable, but you need to be able to check up on him often and provide him with the special one-on-one care he needs. The whole point of the hospital setup is to provide a safe recuperating spot for your ferret that’s also convenient enough for you to do what you need to for your ferret. You also want to be able to get to your ferret quickly in case he’s in distress. Therefore, forego putting any kind of nest box in the hospital cage. A nice pile of fluffy bedding is all that he needs for now.

Tip

To help with your fuzzy’s need for security and sleep, cover the recovery cage with a towel or blanket. This will also help keep out drafts.

Feeding the Sick or Debilitated Ferret

Most ferret owners will, at some point, need to assist their ferrets when it comes to eating so that they continue to meet their nutritional and water-intake requirements (see Chapter Filling Your Ferret’s Belly). Your ferret may require supplemental feedings if he’s sick or injured, old, has dental problems, or is recovering from surgery. No matter the reason, you need to follow through on assisted feeding four to six times a day if your fuzzy isn’t eating on his own. The following sections give you the recipe so you can create a meal that will help heal or sustain your ferret and the method for feeding your needy fuzzy safely and effectively.

The Assist Feed Recipe: Better than Mom’s chicken soup

You need to make a special food mixture to feed your sick or debilitated ferret. The recipe I present in this section has been called many silly names that have nothing to do with ferrets. For our purposes, I’ll simply call the recipe the Assist Feed Recipe and hope it catches on. It’s relatively simple to make. The only requirements are that the concoction must be soft, easy to digest, full of energy-boosting calories, healthy, and yummy enough to make your ferret forget about resisting it.

You have several options when it comes to making the Assist Feed Recipe. Susan Brown, DVM, and co-author of Essentials of Ferrets: A Guide for Practitioners (American Animal Hospital Association), offers the following “either or” suggestions:

1. Mix up Carnivore Care as directed.

Highly digestible protein sources make Carnivore Care an ideal choice when providing nutrition to ferrets that aren’t eating or need supplemental feedings. It’s made by Oxbow Company and can be purchased from your vet or directly from the company. You should have a small supply of this in your ferret first-aid kit (see Chapter Setting Up Your Ferret’s Health Plan: Vets and First-Aid Kits). If you don’t, before you pick up the Carnivore Care, you can substitute your ferret’s favorite high-quality kibble and grind it up, mixing it with water.

or

2. Mix Carnivore Care with Ensure or Resource 2.0 rather than water to increase calories and palatability.

You may need to add a smidge of water to thin the mixture a little.

or

3. Mix the Carnivore Care as directed and mix in canned Science Diet A/D (no more than 50 percent of the total volume) to increase the fat and flavor.

or

4. Mix the Carnivore Care as directed and add some meat baby food (no more than 25 percent of the total volume) to put in more fat and flavor.

Baby food is the least complete thing you can feed your ferret for the long term.

or

5. Mix the Carnivore Care as directed and add an all-meat canned cat food (no more than 25 percent of the total volume) for more fat and flavor.

If your ferret is extra picky, you can also try a 50/50 mixture of kibble and Carnivore Care. The key is to find a flavor that’s palatable to your ferret so that he wants to eat the food. As long as your main ingredient (good high-quality protein, low-carb kibble, or Carnivore Care) is adequate, you can experiment with other ingredients.

Mix the batch up until it’s smooth and creamy. If you’re a fuzzy chef extraordinaire, your ferret will lick your concoction right from the spoon or bowl with little hesitation. If you’re a disaster in the kitchen, you may have to use a feeding syringe to get the stuff into his mouth. Expect a little ptooeying in this case. And see the next section for suggestions on how best — and how often — to get the food down.

Tip

Susan Brown would like me to give you the following advice: “Any of these supplements, even A/D alone or baby food alone, is fine for the short term (one week or less) or supplementing a ferret that is also still eating some on his own. However, if you are feeding the ferret all of the food he’s getting and it’s going to be long term, I would always opt for Carnivore Care alone or in some combination. If the ferret is very thin, you can use combo #2 or #3 to beef him up. You can reduce the amount of Resource/Ensure or A/D if the ferret gets overweight and go back to just Carnivore Care alone.”

Warning!

Many published supplemental feeding recipes contain ingredients that aren’t good for ferrets. Please stay away from the following items in particular:

• Sugary items (such as honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, or Nutri-Cal)
• Fruit (dried or otherwise)
• Grains
• Vegetables

If you think about it, your ferret can only fit so much into his stomach. You can’t waste that space on low-calorie, hard-to-digest, non-dense foods. Your fuzzy should be eating quality high-calorie food. Additionally, high-sugar foods are tough on his pancreas and cause his blood-sugar levels to rise and fall rapidly. You don’t want to add to your fuzzy’s health problems!

The feeding method: Just as effective as the airplane into the mouth

The manner in which you feed your fuzzy his Assist Feed Recipe depends on his level of strength and willingness to eat:

• If your ferret is strong enough and finds the Assist Feed Recipe appetizing, you can present it to him in a shallow bowl or allow him to lick it one spoonful at a time. He may even prefer to lick the recipe off your finger. No matter what, don’t just place him in a cage with the bowl and walk away. Watch him and make sure that he’s doing more eating than spreading it around his cage or other area. Also, if he has cagemates, be aware that they’ll probably try to get to the food before he gets his share.
• If your ferret isn’t strong enough to feed himself, you’ll have to feed him. If you do need to force feed, your first job is to take the word “force” out of your vocabulary. It’s bad enough that the poor guy is sick. Don’t make eating an unpleasant experience as well. (From here on out, I’ll refer to this process as assist feeding, because that’s really what you’re doing.)

You can obtain a feeding syringe (it has no needle at the end) from your vet, or you can use an eyedropper (plastic, not glass) to assist feed your fuzzy. (Note: Eyedroppers can be a bit more time-consuming because they’re smaller.) Suck up the formula into the syringe and squeeze a small amount into the corner of your ferret’s mouth. He may crinkle up his nose and eyes with displeasure or surprise, but don’t give up until you know he’s had enough. Take the time to wipe his mouth and, if needed, your face, should the stuff go airborne during a violent ptooeying!

Warning!

Way too often, fuzzy humans are in a hurry to feed their sick babies. Forcing large amounts of food into a ferret’s mouth can cause him to aspirate or choke. Feed him slowly and in small amounts. Let him set the pace. It may just take him awhile to get used to your cooking!

Remember

Don’t ever give up on a stubborn ferret that refuses to eat. Providing good nutrition and preventing dehydration are crucial to healing and/or prolonging the life of your ferret. You may end up with a ton of gunk on your body, but make sure that your sickie gets several cc’s (3 to 4) of the good stuff four to six times a day. The feeding frequency can be less if he’s eating a little on his own in between feedings.

Handling Actual Emergencies

Ferrets are tiny. They dehydrate quickly. They don’t have very much blood, so they can’t afford to lose much. Basically, fuzzies are stoic creatures, and unfortunately, they hide pain and illness too well. Sometimes, by the time you recognize a problem, it has become severe. The best prevention is to know your ferret’s body language and behavior well. Your preparedness can save your furkid’s life. And, unless the situation is as simple as a toenail cut too close to the quick, a visit to the vet as soon as possible is always a safe measure.

Warning!

If your ferret is in pain or scared, he may bite. I can safely assume that your pet knows and trusts you. Your soft, reassuring voice may help comfort him and calm him down, but you should still exercise caution. (Head to Chapter Dealing with the Behaviorally Challenged Ferret for tips on handling an aggressive ferret.)

Tip

Familiarize yourself with a nearby after-hours emergency hospital that’s ferret-knowledgeable in case your ferret needs care when your veterinarian is unavailable.

In the following sections, I cover actual emergencies that you may encounter over the lifetime of your ferret. Some are common, such as dehydration and diarrhea, and others aren’t so common, such as burns and electric shock. But these sections are designed to give you some basic information to prepare you for possible encounters with emergencies until you can get to the vet.

Shock

Shock is a common after-effect of traumatic injury or life-threatening illness, and it can cost your ferret his life. Shock is a serious medical emergency, and prevention and supportive therapy are essential. Check out the following list so you can recognize the big signs of shock:

• Rapid breathing
• Lethargy
• Shivering
• Fast heartbeat
• Pale nose, skin, and ears
• Skin that’s cool to the touch
• Grey to bluish gums
• Unresponsiveness or extreme anxiety

Warning!

Don’t attempt to get a ferret in shock to eat or drink. Your fuzzy is having a hard time breathing, and his swallowing reflex just isn’t there.

Get your fuzzy to the vet as soon as possible, trying to keep him warm on the way. Upon arrival, let your vet know what measures you’ve already taken and how your ferret has responded. Often, additional fluids given subcutaneously by the vet help speed the recovery. If your ferret is in shock due to blood loss, a blood transfusion from a healthy fuzzy can be lifesaving. It sounds extreme, but it has been done with great success.

Dehydration

Dehydration occurs because of abnormal fluid loss, which can happen if your ferret stops drinking or has severe or chronic diarrhea or vomiting. Except in cases where owners deny or restrict access to water or alter the water’s taste, dehydration is almost always a sign of a serious underlying illness. Regardless of the cause, dehydration can be fatal if you don’t address it immediately.

Some signs of dehydration include the following:

• Dry, tacky gums
• Low urine output
• Weakened state
• Difficulty opening his eyes all the way (constant squinting)
• Loss of sparkle or glossiness in his eyes

Tip

Not sure if one of these symptoms means your fuzzy is dehydrated? How can you find out for sure? Try this technique: Pull up on the skin on the back of your ferret’s neck or shoulders to make a “tent.” Does the skin stay in this tented position for a second or more after you let go, or does it snap back to its original elasticity? Dehydration causes the skin to stay pinched up for a while and not flatten. The longer it takes his skin to flatten out, the more dehydrated your ferret is.

Remember

Older ferrets or ferrets with adrenal gland disease lose a good amount of elasticity in their skin. In other words, their skin doesn’t quickly snap back into place. Because of this, you may get a false result with the previous test, leading you to think your fuzzy is dehydrated. If your fuzzy is older or has adrenal gland disease, always look for the other signs of dehydration as well.

The immediate solution is to get fluids back into your ferret and get to your vet’s office (or an emergency hospital) as soon as possible. By the time you determine your ferret is dehydrated, the situation has become an emergency and requires a trip to your vet. All supportive measures simply help stabilize your ferret until you can get him to professional help. To start, encourage your fuzzy to drink extra water. Some ferrets enjoy the fruity taste of drinks such as Pedialyte or Gatorade, and they get the added benefit of consuming extra electrolytes. Some people believe that warm chicken broth encourages drinking.

Tip

If your fuzzy refuses to drink at all, use a feeding syringe or an eyedropper to feed him the liquid. Hold your ferret in a normal standing position; don’t tip him on his back. Be careful not to force too much liquid or squirt too quickly because he can choke.

Getting enough fluids into a dehydrated ferret is difficult. Often, a vet needs to administer extra fluids subcutaneously (under the skin) or intravenously (IV directly into the vein). Always take your ferret to the vet for treatment and so you can find out what’s making your ferret ill in the first place. Treating the underlying illness often prevents future bouts of dehydration.

Bleeding

Fuzzies don’t have very much blood in their bodies, so any wound that bleeds profusely requires immediate medical attention. The following sections show you how to begin treatment for common bleeding injuries; after you complete your initial treatment, all wounds or injuries should be looked at by a veterinarian as soon as possible, no matter the degree of the injury.

Warning!

Bleeding from the ears, nose, mouth, rectum, or vaginal area is usually a sign of serious illness or injury. If you notice bleeding from one of these sources, visit your vet immediately or call a pet emergency hotline if your vet isn’t available.

Treating injured nails

The most common source of ferret bleeding is a toenail that’s cut too close to the quick (the pink, veined area of the nail). It’s quite painful for your ferret; you’ll hear him let out a series of small screeches to let you know that you screwed up. Here’s how you can fix the mistake:

1. Talk to him softly and hold him cautiously to inspect the damage (see Chapter Dealing with the Behaviorally Challenged Ferret for tips on holding a potentially aggressive fuzzy).
2. Apply a small amount of styptic powder with your finger to the tip of the bleeding nail.
3. Press hard for a moment and then release your finger.
4. If the nail is still bleeding, repeat Steps 2 and 3.

Warning!

Styptic powder burns, and you may tick off your ferret, so be careful. Get the powder off your finger quickly because it will burn you, too.

Tip

A painless alternative to styptic powder is beeswax. Some people suggest pressing the nail into a bar of white soap (preferably a mild one). Other owners use cornstarch or flour to stop nail bleeding. These remedies may take longer to work, but you won’t put your ferret in any more pain.

Seek veterinary care as soon as possible if your fuzzy suffers more than just a closely clipped nail; otherwise, the area may become infected. If the nail has been torn off, don’t use powder to treat the injury. Rather, immediately apply pressure to the top of the toe, not on the toe tip, and seek veterinary attention right away. The blood will eventually clot on its own. Torn claws may need to be removed completely and require stitches, but that’s a worst-case scenario.

Treating cuts

A laceration on your fuzzy can be serious. Your ferret may need a more extensive exam, stitches, and/or antibiotics to treat the injury, but that should come immediately after you provide initial care to your fuzzy’s boo-boo. Remember, ferrets don’t have a lot of blood to lose, so act fast! Follow these steps:

1. Gently wash the laceration with cold water.

2. Apply gentle but firm pressure on the wound.

Using something clean and dry is important — gauze or a clean wash-cloth, for instance.

3. If possible, wrap the area with gauze and then use self-stick wrap to secure it to the wound.

Wrapping may not be possible, however, depending on where the wound is.

Remember

Make sure that the wrap isn’t too tight. Depending on the cause of the cut, your ferret may also be suffering from internal injuries that you can’t see.

4. Head to the vet if the laceration is wide, deep, or appears red or irritated.

A wound that won’t stop bleeding needs immediate vet attention.

Vomiting

Vomiting can occur for several reasons, ranging from ingesting bad food, to an infection of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, to an intestinal blockage. Keep a close eye on your vomiting ferret. Sometimes, a small piece of ingested material will come up with vomit, and then the vomiting will stop. But if your fuzzy vomits repeatedly and shows the following symptoms, he possibly has an intestinal blockage:

• Can’t hold down his food
• Shows no interest in food
• Becomes depressed and lethargic

The only way to treat a blockage is to remove the object surgically. Not doing so may spell death for your ferret. Get to a vet as soon as possible!

Diarrhea (and other fecal issues)

Short bouts of infrequent diarrhea are quite common in ferrets. How can you tell if you’re dealing with diarrhea? A ferret’s normal stool is slightly soft but formed. Diarrhea is more liquid in form, and your ferret shows a higher frequency of pooping.

The cause of diarrhea can be very difficult to diagnose. The cause can be as simple as your ferret indulging in one too many treats (hey, we’ve all been there). Diarrhea can also be a sign of underlying diseases or illnesses or can result from changes in diet. An underlying condition may be easy to correct (influenza, for example) or difficult (eosinophilic gastroenteritis, for instance). But no matter what the cause, diarrhea can become life threatening because your fuzzy is losing precious fluids and not absorbing all his food. You need to get treatment immediately and get to the bottom of the cause.

Remember

Diarrhea is cause for alarm if it becomes serious and frequent (lasts for more than a day). If your fuzzy’s diarrhea persists, take him and a sample of the poop to the vet immediately so she can rule out all the nasty things your fuzzy may have. The treatment may be as simple as daily doses of Kaopectate and electrolyte-replacing fluids, but let your vet decide. A professional can learn a lot just from looking at a ferret’s poop! Table 13-1 goes through the many properties a sick fuzzy’s poop can have and lists the possible conditions associated with them. Be on the lookout!

Table 13-1	Poop and Possible Related Conditions
Type of Poop	Possible Malady
Spaghetti-thin poop	Partial obstruction by a foreign body.
Green poop	A non-specific type of poop. The food possibly is moving too fast through the digestive tract, and the poop is green because the food isn’t broken all the way down. Anything that causes rapid passage or diarrhea can cause green poop — disease, food changes, stress, ECE (see Chapter Finding and Treating the Big C and Other Lumps), and so on.
Bloody poop	Fresh, bright-red blood usually comes from the lower intestine or rectum. Large amounts of blood may indicate a massive hemorrhage from the entire length of the GI tract.
Seedy poop	A non-specific type of poop. Malabsorption or maldigestion is taking place, meaning that digestion or absorption isn’t happening the way it should. The seedy material is undigested fat and starch complexes. Seedy or “birdseed” poop can accompany any disease that seriously affects the small intestine. Low-quality ferret diets that are high in plant protein as opposed to animal protein may cause seedy poop, because the ferrets can’t digest all the plant protein and starches.
Black, tarry poop	Results from gastric bleeding or gastric ulcers. The black color comes from the digestion of the blood, which occurs in the stomach. Significant bleeding in the stomach must be present in order for the ferret’s poop to turn black.

Tip

To check for lower GI blood in your ferret’s poop to be sure, take a poop sample and put it in a piece of gauze. Soak the gauze in warm water. If blood is in the stool, the water will turn red, and you’ll see the color against the white gauze.

In the case of treating severe diarrhea, your vet will request a complete history of your ferret in order to diagnose the cause. Be prepared to report the following:

• The age of the ferret
• How the ferret is living and with whom
• The extent and duration of his symptoms
• His diet
• Other significant information you can readily give

Your vet may also want to perform blood tests, X-rays, or biopsies of the intestinal tract to help hone in on a proper diagnosis. Your vet will likely treat your ferret immediately for dehydration and may provide additional nutritional support before moving on to a treatment based on the diagnosis and the severity of the condition.

Seizures

A seizure occurs when the electrical impulses in the ferret’s brain misfire. It can last from seconds to a few minutes and is a very scary thing to witness. Some seizures can occur very quietly and go unnoticed, but the majority involve the involuntary thrashing about of the limbs in combination with any of the following:

• Loss of bladder/bowel control
• Salivating
• Vomiting
• Involuntary vocalizations

Remember

Seizures can be a sign of many different underlying conditions, from hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) to poisoning. They always merit a trip to the veterinarian’s office immediately afterward, because you need to find the underlying cause and do everything you can to prevent future seizures.

I would only move a ferret if it’s in a place that’s dangerous. If he’s already on the floor, leave him alone. In moving him, you may prolong the seizure or get yourself bitten. It’s better to cover him with a light towel or washcloth to block out the light, which is a stimulus. Covering him may decrease the length of the seizure. Keep your fingers, pens, wallet, and any other objects away from your ferret’s mouth when he’s in the middle of the seizure and shoo away other ferrets and pets. If you have your wits about you, try to time the incident for future reference. (Note: Neither people nor ferrets have the ability to swallow their tongues during a seizure. That’s a myth.)

Warning!

A ferret isn’t in pain during a seizure, even if he’s crying out. He’s essentially unconscious and his body is going through involuntary muscle spasms. Don’t try to hold your ferret down during a seizure. Restraining him can cause further injury — to him and to you. He may inadvertently and seriously bite you without even knowing what’s going on around him. Because the jaws of a seizing animal/person clamp tightly shut, anything that gets in the way gets bitten severely. Also, restraining him is stimulating and may increase the length of the seizure.

In the end, you’ll have a very wiped-out ferret. When your ferret’s seizure ends, keep him calm, warm, and quiet. He’ll be confused and shaken. To give him a needed boost to recovery, rub a little Karo syrup or honey on his gums. Repeat every five minutes until your fuzzy starts coming around. You can also offer him a little soft food, such as a high-protein canned food or meat baby food, to stabilize his blood sugar. If your ferret isn’t feeling up to licking from a spoon or off a plate, offer the food from a feeding syringe. From start to finish, the ferret needs about 30 to 40 minutes to recover from the seizure, but get your ferret into the vet as soon as possible after the seizure ends.

Heatstroke

Ferrets are extremely susceptible to heatstroke — especially in temperatures above 80 degrees Fahrenheit. A heatstroke can quickly kill your ferret if you don’t provide treatment immediately. Signs of heatstroke include

• Heavy panting
• Mucous coming from the nose or mouth
• Extreme lethargy or limpness
• Seizures
• Loss of consciousness

Your main objective is to lower the ferret’s body temperature slowly. A gradual decrease in body temperature is necessary to prevent shock. (A rapid decrease in body temperature can be as deadly as heatstroke itself.) First, get the ferret out of the sun and heat and give him water to drink. If you have an electrolyte-replacing drink, such as Pedialyte or Gatorade, use it if your ferret will drink it.

Warning!

If your ferret is unconscious, don’t try to get any liquid or food into his mouth, because he can choke. Just keep him cool and provide first aid until you can get him to the vet.

After you remove fuzzy from the heat and get some fluids in him, you can slowly lower his body temperature in many different ways:

• Apply cool (not cold) water to body areas with less fur — the groin, lower stomach, and the feet, for example. You can place a wet washcloth on the key areas. The evaporation of the water on the skin cools the body and lowers his temperature.
• Place your fuzzy directly in shallow, room-temperature water, keeping his head and the top half of his body above water. Don’t submerge him in cold water because the shock of doing so can kill him.
• Apply rubbing alcohol to his feet only, making sure not to miss his paw pads. You also can rub ice cubes on the ferret’s feet.
• Place the ferret in front of a fan. This method isn’t as effective as the others, but it’s better than nothing in an emergency situation.

No matter how you think your ferret is weathering the situation and responding to your treatment, get him to the vet as soon as possible. Often, the vet will give a ferret additional fluids to make up for those lost during the heatstroke. She may also recommend additional medications or other home support.

Tip

Take extra precautions in the warmer months to prevent heatstroke. Don’t leave your ferret in a closed-up, hot car. Keep your ferret and his carrier out of direct sunlight, and be sure to give him extra water. If you take your ferret outside during the very warm months, bring along a bottle or two of frozen water. Wrap the bottles in towels and keep them in the carrier or cage.

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a potentially fatal condition where the body’s temperature drops below the level required for normal functioning of the internal organs. Some animals are more prone to hypothermia than others: Very young and very old ferrets, small ferrets with short hair, ferrets with no shelter in cold weather, wet ferrets, and ferrets undergoing surgical procedures. Signs of hypothermia include

• Shivering (which often becomes violent)
• Cool skin or skin cold to the touch
• Slow, shallow breathing
• Lethargy
• Unresponsiveness

The hypothermic ferret needs immediate help from you to return his body temperature to normal. Depending on the duration and severity of the condition, tissue damage may already have occurred, so hypothermic ferrets should be warmed up very slowly. The following list presents some ways to accomplish this:

• Run dry towels through the dryer to warm them up, and then wrap your ferret in the warm towels.

Warning!

A severely hypothermic ferret will be listless and unresponsive and therefore unable to move away from heat that you provide. Exercise extreme caution when you provide heat for a ferret so that you prevent burns. What feels warm to you may actually feel scorching to a ferret. Monitor the use of heat closely and keep watch over your ailing ferret to gauge his reactions.

• If your ferret is wet, use a hair dryer on the low setting to dry him and warm him up.
• Fill empty bottles, such as soda bottles, with warm water, wrap them in dish towels, and place them against your ferret’s skin. The best placement is where your fuzzy has less fur, such as the armpit or the groin area. Never put an uncovered bottle against the ferret’s skin; it may burn him.
• Warm a heating pad on the low setting, place a towel over it, lay your ferret on top of it, and then cover him with a warm towel.

Warning!

Heating pads can be dangerous because they’re the most common cause of overheating. Never leave your ferret unattended on a heating pad, and always keep checking the temperature of the pad and your ferret.

• Grab some sealable plastic baggies or socks and fill them with uncooked rice or lentils. Warm them in the microwave for one to two minutes, wrap them in a towel, and place them on areas with little fur.

Warning!

When you come inside from extreme cold, it’s hard to ignore how painful your fingers and toes are. Well, a severely hypothermic ferret may experience similar pain as his tissues warm up. As a result, he may bite or scratch at the areas and may even bite you in his time of discomfort. Be extra cautious when handling the fuzzy (see Chapter Dealing with the Behaviorally Challenged Ferret).

While your ferret is warming up, call your vet to discuss what else you should do. She may want to see your ferret for further examination. Additional veterinary care may include administering warm fluids intravenously and giving oxygen.

Tip

Lethargy and unresponsiveness also are common signs of hypoglycemia that goes along with insulinoma. It isn’t uncommon for a hypoglycemic ferret to become hypothermic. If this situation happens with your fuzzy, take steps to warm him up, and if he’s conscious and can swallow, give him a small amount of honey or sugar mixed with a little warm water. If he’s unconscious, gently rub honey or sugar water on his gums. These actions may just save his life!

Eye injuries

Ferrets can get very rough when playing with each other, and they can get into a lot of trouble on their own. Eye injuries aren’t beyond the ferret injury realm. If your ferret receives a scratch to an eye, flush out the eye with cool water or a saline solution. Any eye injury requires the attention of an experienced ferret vet, so waste no time after flushing the eye.

Remember

If you suspect that your fuzzy has foreign matter in his eye, such as litter or sand — which you can tell by a watery and squinty eye that lasts for more than an hour or so — don’t apply pressure to the affected eye. Doing so can cause the particle to inflict further damage. Simply flush the eye and call your vet for instructions on how to proceed until you can get to the office.

Fractures or spinal injuries

Ferrets are extremely flexible and resilient, but occasionally bone injuries occur after a fall, after getting pounced on by a dog, or while getting folded up in a piece of furniture, for instance. If your ferret has a broken bone or an injured spine, he may be showing the following symptoms:

• Limping
• Showing resistance to moving
• Dragging a leg or holding one up

Sometimes, it’s hard to recognize a break without an actual X-ray, so a trip to the vet is necessary. The best course of action is to keep your ferret immobile and quiet while you seek immediate medical attention. Don’t try to fix anything on your own. Place your ferret in a small carrier and keep him warm during the trip.

Tip

If the injured body part is a paw, wrap it in a towel to steady the limb while you take the fuzzy to the vet. If you suspect his spine is injured, be extremely cautious. Spinal injuries can be devastating, if not fatal, so keep the ferret as still as possible in his small carrier. Wrap his body in a towel and get him to the vet immediately.

Poisoning

The world is a scary place for ferrets; even your home can be a source of harm. Most homes contain funky chemicals and cleaners, half of which humans don’t remember storing. These chemicals and cleaners are poisonous to the little fuzzy. The most commonly encountered ferret poisons are rat poison and Tylenol. When your ferret finds and ingests these things, disaster ensues. Poisoning can also occur if you accidentally overdose your ferret on a prescribed medication.

Signs of poisoning include

• Vomiting
• Salivating
• Pawing at the mouth
• Diarrhea
• Lethargy
• Sudden weakness
• Seizures
• Unconsciousness
• An overturned chemical bottle or chewed up cleaner container (okay, so not a symptom, but definitely a warning signal)

If you suspect that your ferret has ingested something poisonous or has taken too much medicine, take him and the suspected substance to your vet immediately. Try to figure out how much he ingested and how long ago so you can tell the vet. Treatment depends on the ingested substance. It can range from induced vomiting to medication. Only your vet will know the proper course of action.

Keep the number to the National Animal Poison Control Center close at hand and make sure that your vet has it for reference. You can reach this nonprofit agency at 888-426-4435. The service costs $55 per case and accepts credit cards only.

Animal bites

People who own ferrets often have other animals in their homes. If you live in this type of home, you need to limit and monitor pet interactions closely to avoid bouts of aggression. If your ferret gets bitten by another household pet, wash his wound lightly with cold water and gently dab the area with hydrogen peroxide. If the wound is bleeding, apply pressure to slow the bleeding and get him to the vet immediately.

Warning!

Cat bites are particularly dangerous to both people and ferrets due to the amount of bacteria in cat saliva. Often, cat bites require special antibiotics. If your kitty bites your fuzzy, make an extra-quick trip to the vet.

If a neighbor’s pet, a stray, or a wild animal bites your ferret, take him to the vet right away. If you know the animal that bit your fuzzy, find out if it’s up to date on its rabies vaccination first. Although the incidence is extremely low and unlikely, your ferret can contract rabies from an infected animal. Prevention is the key. Watch your ferret closely for changes in behavior and report them to the vet. (For information on rabies vaccine and prevention, see Chapter Setting Up Your Ferret’s Health Plan: Vets and First-Aid Kits.)

Electric shock

An electric shock can be severe enough to kill your little fuzzy. Electric shock is usually the result of a fuzzy chewing on electrical cords, which is why you need to keep cords in your home far out of your ferret’s reach (see Chapter Ferret - Proofing Your Home or info on ferret-proofing your house). Be aware that chewed cords can also cause a fire. Check your home regularly for and replace any frayed or bitten electrical cords.

There’s very little you can do for a ferret that’s experienced electric shock except keep him warm and quiet until you can get him to the veterinarian. If he’s lucky enough to survive, you can be almost certain he’ll suffer damage to his teeth, gums, and mouth. You and your vet will then proceed with the proper treatment program for his injuries. Trust me, prevention is much easier on both of you!

Burns

Sometimes carpet sharks get into things they shouldn’t (actually, more often than sometimes). It isn’t their fault; it’s in their nature. One serious side effect of this curiosity, burns, occurs because owners aren’t paying close enough attention and allow the fuzzies to venture into unsafe territory. Burns can come from getting too close to fireplaces, cigarettes, ovens, and even pilot lights. Bathing your ferret in extremely hot water can also scald him. If your ferret suffers a burn, immediately apply cold water directly to the burned area. And if you can, apply an ice pack for no more than five minutes. After this initial treatment, get your ferret to the vet immediately.

by Kim Schilling