QUESTION:
I’m the owner of two ferrets, one of them I bought her from a pet store 7 months ago and the other one I adopt her last week and I am very concern about her the people from the shelter told me that somebody found her in a dumper so they don’t know how old is she or anything, she is very skinny and she does not eat even that I got her the same kind of food that they were giving her at the shelter. I read before about the baby chicken food in your web site and I was feeding her with it but when I told the vet from the shelter she told me that it was like feeding candy to a kid, she has the green diarrhea and she sleeps a lot. I also read on your web site that if a ferret does not recognize the food it won’t eat it, so how I am suppose to know what kind of food she likes? And what about the baby food should I keep feeding her with it? She likes it!

ANSWER:
What food were they feeding her at the shelter? Have no idea what the vet meant about CHICKEN BABYFOOD, it kept all my 140 ferrets alive when they had ECE. Dr. Bruce Williams the foremost authority on ferrets, told me to feed it back in 1995 when all the ferrets came down with ECE and he still advocates it to this day, It is so easy for the ferrets to digest and assimilate very quickly into their systems. It sounds to me as if your ferret may have picked up the ECE virus, either at the shelter, or from your ferret who probably had it when young. If the new ferret is older, then she is going through a rough time, so you MUST feed her the baby food (make sure it is MEAT ONLY) for the high meat protein content. You will need to feed her at least 3-4 teaspoonfuls every 3 1/2 - 4 hours until she starts to feel better. She will need lots of fluid so make sure you add a little water to the baby food. She could use some enzymes to put the good bacteria back into her intestines as the diarrhea is depleting it.

What are you feeding your ferret? Have you tried to give her some, although she may not eat it, if her stomach and intestines are not well, but at least leave it there in the cage just incase. My advice is to print out the info from Dr. Williams and other articles that you will find on: www.miamiferret.org Click on HEALTHCARE and then go to feeding a sick ferret, also ECE and any other info you see that might help educate those at the shelter and their vet. There may have been a misunderstanding, but at this point the like of your ferret is in the balance and you need to get the baby food down her if you do not want her to die!

QUESTION:
I have a ferret who is about a year old. We just got a new ferret from the pet store 2 weeks ago. They get along great. But now my older ferret is showing all signs of ECE. While he tries to play like normal he has the green slime, the digging, watery eyes, and sleeping a lot. We are feeding him baby food as suggested (he hates it, he will burrow in his bedding to get away from it, so we are forcing it on him) but he is still drinking water. And we are keeping a close eye on him. I have made arrangements to take him to the vet today. He has been healthy and not had any problems whatsoever up to now.

I have a few questions:

The new ferret shows no signs of being sick. Should I keep them separated? If so, for how long?

Is this common when you introduce a new ferret into the home?

Is this something I should notify the pet store about and are they somewhat responsible?

If we keep feeding him and making sure he is hydrated, will this eventually run its course?

I was also wondering how long this usually lasts? I checked another site and they said it could take up to 6 months for him to get better.

ANSWER:
It is very common for ferrets to get ECE from new babies, it is nothing to do with the pet shop. The baby has most likely had it and that is why you are not seeing signs, they get over quickly, however they then carry it with them.

Your ferret is so young he most likely has already had ECEC before you bought him and what you are seeing is a recurrence brought on by the stress of the new baby. If it is his first time then he too will recover quite quickly, as long as you keep him fed and hydrated.

Try giving him some ENSURE(vanilla) mixed with his CHICKEN BABYFOOD, he may find it more palatable, mix 1 teaspoonful to 4 teaspoons of baby food, try to get this down him every 3-4 hours.

The worst part usually lasts from 10 days to 2 weeks, since he is young he should recover without ill effects. You can give him PEPTO BISMOL in with the ENSURE(it tastes nasty) .5 cc/ml, if you have an eyedropper, it will half of that, give it twice a day.

Hope you have a ferret knowledgeable vet as the worst thing is for him to go on antibiotics, it will remove all the good bacteria from his intestines along with the bad! He needs all the good bacteria in there, so try getting him some enzymes asap. There can be complications and you may need a vet but it would be best to read about it from the experts first.

Go to: www.miamiferret.org Click on Healthcare and then ECE, especially read the articles by Dr Bruce Williams he is the expert on the disease and helped me when I had 140 ferrets with it.

QUESTION:
I have 2 ferrets, one which was just introduced to the household 4 days ago. The new one is a 9 week old female. Our older ferret is 1 year, and he has the "greenies" for the past day. He is still drinking and eating. I haven't noticed any vomiting. My question is, is this ECE, or can they get green diarrhea from other things, such as a new treat, or an out-dated treat? The younger ferret is showing no signs, she is eating and drinking fine.

ANSWER:
ECE shows up as very liquid green diarrhea that shoots out. I would doubt very seriously that your 1 year old has it, as he most likely would have already been exposed to it previously, however if you are seeing the diarrhea as I described the it could be so. You will need to watch to make sure he is eating and drinking plenty, as he will dehydrate. If he isn't eating well then you might want to get him some CHICKEN BABY FOOD and feed him that, it is high meat protein and easily assimilated, plus it is very bland (it makes a very healthy snack for your ferrets). The other reason your ferret may have the green poops is STRESS from introducing a new ferret and after he gets used to the newcomer he should adjust. Young ferrets can also come from the Pet store with parasites or bacteria and show no signs of sickness themselves, but can/will give it to other ferrets. If the problem continues then you will need to see your vet for a stool check to make sure your ferrets do not need medication.