stcy1972 asked: I had 3 ferrets and one is new, I have had him only 2 weeks, my other 2 are 2 and 3 years old. I have had all since they were babies but have never seen this. When I was cleaning the cage I removed the bedding and noticed he has been either eating or ******* on the blanket. I called the vet and they gave me a Tuesday appointment. It is a new vet because the one i have now just is not ferret knowledgeable, not enough for me to be comfortable and I have been through 4. I want to be sure he has no blockage of any kind. I have been watching him since I discovered this and have removed everything that might be dangerous including the bedding. I did some research and found that this can occur when they are taken from the mother too soon. So I have followed the advice and I am spending all the time I can, I even took the day off work so I did not have not leave him. He is eating and pooping fine, I have been checking so I am hoping he has not ingested anything but I am still getting it checked. My question is that with all he eats, and he eats quite a bit he seems to be losing weight. I thought maybe if I got him one of his litter mates it might make him feel better,so i drove back and got another one thinking one at his age might make him feel better. looking at her compared to him he is frailer and thinner than she is. I am just wondering if he could be stressed from missing his mother and that might be the weight cause. I don’t want to wait until Tuesday because i know firsthand how quickly ferrets can decline in health. My instincts tell me not to wait and if I have to drive 4 hours to another vet so be it. Any advice on what could be causing this or are some ferrets built this way. He really feels allot bonier than his sister, I am so afraid even when I pick him up. He is playing and acting normal and a friend thinks that I am paranoid because I lost a ferret last year. I took her 3 times to the vet and had her AD and she passed in her sleep. It really crushed me, I know nothing lives forever but she was only 3. I don’t want to make the same mistake by not listening to my instincts as I did last year.
His diet consists of mostly marshall he seems to have imprinted this particular brand. I feed 3 different foods to my ferrets. Totally Ferret, Marshall, and 8 in One Ultimate. I also give them a soup daily that is just Marshall Ferret Blended with water and warmed. My ferrets love this like a treat. The only snacks my ferrets will eat are N-Bones and the baby has not eaten these yet. They are in one cage that is 12 feet L,8 feet W, and 4 Feet H, and then there is a secondary cage inside this one that is just kept open where the older ferrets sleep. The baby sleeps in a blanket, or did that I shaped into a cub-by type hole but I have removed that. He seems so lost now. I have tried everything but the only material he seems not to do this with is jean material.I have one bed left and it is in a nylon type plaything I got for the cage and he is sleeping in it now. I do take my ferrets out when i am home and they go back in the big cage when I go to sleep. I try to have them out as much as possible, probably about 6 hours a day. If anyone has any ideas please let me know so i can bring it to the Dr’s attention. Thanks
Jared
