Ferret needs help! Any ferret owners here?

Spyda

Spyda

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Very sorry this is non-horsey and long. But I'm worried what to do for the best here.

I have rescued a ferret from a family down the road. My son came home from choir and mentioned one of his friends had told him one of their two ferrets had died. I knew it was a young ferret and wondered why. I used to keep ferrets myself, so asked my son to pop down and ask the family if they needed any help or advice. To cut a long story short the remaining ferret was brought up here by one of the family's children and it is in a pitiful state. Aside from very long claws and a bad case of ear mite, he was SO thin. You can feel every bone in his spine and rib cage. I asked what they'd been feeding him on and the boy said both ferrets had been off their food for some time and not drinking much. He pulled out a handful of rabbit mix and said this was what the ferrets had been given to eat when their last bag of ferret nuggets (supplied by the previous owner) had run out a couple of months ago. No wonder the other ferret had died. No ferret can live on rabbit mix, they are obligate carnivores.

I have taken the ferret from the family, explaining it will be dead within a week if left. They've agreed. Now my question is, what is going to be the best way to introduce the correct food to this poor little chap? I have bought ferret nuggets and Feretone supplement this morning, but am worried about shocking his system with such a dietary change. That said, he desperately needs correct nourishment.

Any advice aside from taking him to the vet tomorrow morning? What best to do for him until then?

Many thanks for reading this. Liz.
 
My husband had ferrets as a child and he fed them lots of eggs and raw meat. I can understand your worries about reintroducing these foods but if the poor creature is desperate for decent nutrition, I would risk it and feed immediately. Hopefully, someone will post who knows what to do for the best and correct me if I'm wrong! Good luck:)
 
I am a ferret owner, but I have to say I don't really know what would be best to do for him. Going by the treatment I would use for other animals or people - it would be offer little and often.

However, they say poor and sick ferrets love 'duck soup', googling will provide the receipe, but my take on it is to boil up some chicken thighs and then blend the cooked mixture - minus bones. You could offer him something like that or else chicken baby food which mine ate when he was ill.

Well done for rescuing him and hope he recovers.
 
Feed little and often, so just a pinch of nuggets every few hours. A bit of raw egg will make him feel better almost instantly as well, but again don't over do it.
Yep take him to the vets tomorrow and they should be able to perk him up with a vitamin/mineral injection, this should be a good kick start.
 
I would give him a raw egg now and then offer some nuggets later tonight. What a disgusting thing to do tho feed him rabbit mix, even cat food would have been better. In fact some good quality kitten food would be quite light on his tummy to get him going.
Poor little guy, well done you for taking him in, good luck.
 
Bless the poor little lad....I would feed some raw egg (beaten) with a little glucose added and make a soup with some ferret food - or cat food, whichever you have and feed him a little every 2-3 hours and give him plenty of fluids, and pop him to vets in the morning. How disgusting that they let him get like that - morons, makes me soooo angry, please let ud know how he gets on.
 
Hello everyone. Thank you so much to those that replied and offered advice. 'Duck Soup'! Yes, of course. How did I forget that wonderful remedy for the ailing ferret?! I'm making him some as we speak (well, type!)

I bathed him earlier in a mild ferret shampoo (he was filthy and his ears completely blocked with mite excrement); and cannot tell you just HOW thin this animal is. Think of the worst you can, and this animal is that. How he is still alive and alert I simply do not know. He is a big male ferret and weighs under 130g.

I telephoned the vet's emergency line after bathing him and spoke to someone there who confirmed feeding him the ferret nuggets in very small amounts, at regular intervals, and watching how is he inbetween. There's nothing wrong with his appetite and he was snatching the nuggets from my palm whilst still wet and wrapped in a warm towel drying off. He's presently snuggled up inside a folded fleecy rug (I knew I'd find a use for that outgrown 5'6 one we've had kicking about in the garage for the past 2 years) in a cage in our living room. He's had a drink and I'm keeping an eye on him for any signs of stomach discomfort. I'm definitely taking him to the vets tomorrow.

Worryingly, I've had a call from one of the children in the family from where the ferret was - telling me their big brother (age 21) has just arrived home and is furious the ferret has 'gone'. He says he expects the ferret back within a week! Huh. I told said-child to pass on the message that this ferret would be dead within a couple of days had I not taken him in, just like their other ferret had already, and that it was a genuine RSCPA case. My husband says the 'big brother' is welcome to pop round 'for a chat' and that he'll set him straight and threaten to take the ferret to the RSPCA and let them handle things.

But that aside, how do I stand? If I take the ferret to the vet tomorrow and they can see he's a skeleton -will I have to give the poor thing back to that family again? Should I involve the RSPCA just to prevent this happening or would the vet be able to support me if a claim was made to demand the ferret back?

I can't bare to think of him going back there. My 11 year old son said the hutch was tiny for two ferrets. 2' long x 2' deep and was filthy. Full of poop with no where clean for the ferrets to lie. And of course, nothing but rabbit mix to eat. I haven't seen the hutch myself, so that is heresay via my son, but I hate to think of the ferret that died there. What a miserable life. :( :mad:
 
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I wouldnt feed to much egg, ferrets should only have roughly one egg a month as a treat, Chicken complan is excellent for unwell ferrets or you can ask your vet for some Feline AD, which will help a lot as that will be gentle on its system, other than that as someone already said 'duck soup'. Ferrets have a very short digestive system so little and very often, about every hour.
Also if you have any raw mince/chicken i would offer that in tiny amounts often.
No way would i let the poor thing go back, RSPCA is the way to go, get a written report from your vet to give to the young man in question, im sure once he realises you are serious about involving RSPCA he will back off.
Best of luck with the poor thing.
 
You need a word with stinkbomb on here, shes a police office and gave some excellent advice on AAD regarding microchipping and proof of ownership. I would definitely get in touch with a ferret welfare group and ask their advice too.:)
 
We have 2 ferrets and as well as the nugget food they eat Whiskas kitten food and love it. Maybe you could give it a bit of both. Hope it gets well soon.
 
Shame on peoples ignorance, that animals have to suffer :(

No idea how you would stand in fighting to become his new owner, but i would take lots of photo's with a phone or digital camera so you have dates and times on them, to support your claim and aid the rspca if needed. Good luck with nursing him back to health.
 
Just give him the vets bill and say He can have animal back when bill paid and then the up keep of said animal while in your care. I'd trust your son in what he says of the conditions where they were kept and his friend I think knew things wrong how they were kept, so sensible child. Plus just say you have contacted RSPCA or Ferret Charity and do so. Best of Luck:):):)
 
brighteyes said:
Tell the owners the vet called the RSPCA over its disgusting condition but so far you haven't been persuaded to give the name of the family responsible...
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That's a good idea!

Thanks again to everyone who's posted. This morning the little chap had eaten plenty, drunk lots and had poop'ed well (Sorry! but it's a sure sign to me that his digestion is working okay.)

He was asleep inside the fleece rug this morning, and when went to check on him (and was trying to extracate him from the folds of blanket) he managed to escape without me even seeing him. I pulled out the empty rug and thought WTF!? Found ferret had climbed out and crawled up into our dog's bed and was snuggling under her. Fortunately we have a very tolerant Lurcher (she's used to being bullied by our cats!) You could see by her expression what she was thinking. "Oh no, now what have they brought into the house to pester me!"

He's a sweet little chap and I'm hoping he'll pull through. If I can find my camera's charger I'll take some piccies of him.

Thanks again for the advice everyone :)
 
Well done you! Ferrets are great Ive got 6,youve been given very good advice,with regard to the RSPCA and the big brother,take photograps as evidence and maybe call the RSPCA they are pretty good with ferrets.
 
Happy to report that I took the ferret to the vet this morning and she was able to confirm he was healthy, but simply starved. He was energetic and she said to carry on as we are and he should pull through.

It turns out that the vet I saw this morning is a fellow livery at my yard! How's that for luck!? (Oooops, and I'd thought she was merely a vet nurse or something :o )

I feel like asking the people who had this ferret how long they think one of their precious cats would survive, if someone placed it into a small hutch, locked it in and fed it nothing but rabbit food. The mind boggles.

We'll be keeping the little chap. We've lots of space for ferrets as I used to take in rescued and lost ferrets when we first moved in here. I've only been 'ferretless' for the past six months, so everything's still here. Might have to find him a companion though! :)
 
shysmum said:
If he needs a home.............north east any good ? sm xx
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We're in Devon!! But thanks anyway. It's kind of you to think of him. We'll be keeping him. He's an absolute gem. Adorable in fact. He's been running around the living room this afternoon, whilst I cleaned out his cage. He's weak and wobbly but full of beans and very nosey.
 
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