QUESTION:
Hi! I have written you before, and you have given me good advice. So maybe you can help me again. I seem to be the type who worries over the littlest things, but maybe you can tell me if I should be concerned. I have two ferrets a boy (Pudge) and a girl (Izzy) both about 3 to 4 months old. They are great. But two days ago Izzy had a slightly green slimmy poop. I watch her to see if she was eating and drinking and she was. She was still her playful self. I watched for the next poop and it was fine except a little runny. Then as the day went the poops got thinner and kind of smaller so I fed her some ferret lax. I noticed that Pudges stool was kind of runny too. The next day everything was normal but still their stool was a little runny or wet. I try to watch them a close as possible and when I get home from work, and let them out I check the litter box to see how their stool looks. This morning when I let them out, I noticed another stool that was kind of green slim at the end.

As if it started normal but finished slimmy. I have read about ECE and about runny stool. I am about to go an buy them some gerbers chicken so I can add water to feed them so I know they are getting a lot of water. But what else do I do? Are these signs of ECE. They act absolutely normal, happy go lucky, jumping all over you, dragging their toys across the floor normal. I mean Izzy could be sleeping a little more maybe, but other than that they seem fine except for their stool. I just am not sure if i should be more worried. I am sorry for this being so long, I just wanted to give all the details. I appreciate your advice.

ANSWER:
It does not sound like ECE, they would be having 'explosive' diarrhea with that! Plus they most likely have already had it before you even got them. Could they have chewed on anything and eaten it such as a toy of some kind? Have you changed their food? Do you give them fresh food each day, if not how often. How long does a bag of food last? If food is sitting around it will go rancid and cause upset to digestive system, also old food in the bag will do the same.

Any kind of rubber toys that they can eat will cause blockages or partial blockages so it is very important to make sure that they do not have rubber in any form, rubber bands, sneakers, erasers etc.. Also some ferrets chew on their bedding causing digestive problems and sometimes blockages, so good to check to make sure everything they have is still whole. Shouldn't worry too much if they are still eating and drinking.

QUESTION:
I bought an albino ferret about a week ago. His name is Snowball and he's really sweet. Lately his poop is green, but it's not diarrhea. Also his hair on his tail looks like it is falling out or something. This is the first time I'm noticing hair loss in the tail and it's been like this for about 2 days now. I haven't noticed it coming back either and I wasn't sure if it was anything too serious, so I decided to ask you. I'm not really sure how old he is, and that he eats and drinks normally. One thing is that I changed the food and the bedding. The bedding is shredded newspaper and the bedding I used before was wood chipping. I'm not sure what kind though. Is there any kind of bedding that would be good for the ferret that you can think of? I have changed the food about 3 times because 1) I ran out of the first one (which was the Marshall Diet) and had a second one but a different kind 2) I read that the second food is bad for the ferret and causes problems 3) Now I'm using some temporary food. I am now ordering more of the Marshall Diet. He gets out of the cage enough and he acts fine. Although when he's running around he makes this coughing noise sort of. He sleeps normally too. Do you have any idea what is wrong??

ANSWER:
Is your ferret a baby or an adult? The hair loss on the tail is a seasonal thing, when he grows in a new coat that will grow back, UNLESS he is an older ferret, then it could mean the start of adrenal disease, but nothing for you to panic about yet.

As far as changing food, you must NOT change food without introducing the new food gradually, it causes gastric troubles, which could be why you are seeing the greeny poop! When you change food it should be done by adding a little at the side of the food you are feeding now and each day adding a little more of the new food, that way the ferret's digestive system has time to adjust. If your ferret is still having problems let me know?

When you speak of bedding, are you referring to his litter? Recycled newspaper is the best kind, in pellet form such as YESTERDAYS NEWS or in pieces such as CAREFRESH. These are non toxic and keep odor to a minimum.

WOOD chips can be chewed by ferrets and that may be the reason for the cough, if he has swallowed any, it may have caused abrasions in his throat, also it can cause abrasions in the intestines as well. Some woods such as CEDAR and PINE have an oil in them that causes respiratory ailments, hence could be a reason for his coughing.

You can provide soft blankets, t-shirts etc.. for your ferret to sleep in and only use litter in a litter box, it is so much healthier for your ferret.