QUESTION:
My ferret, Skeeter, has stopped eating entirely. For about 5 days he had been eating less and less and now he won't eat anything. I have taken him to a Vet and his X-rays were clear. We have been giving him Subcutaneous fluids too keep him hydrated and have been force feeding him Max-cal food slurry. Unfortunately, Skeeter has always been a picky eater and has only liked his food, so feedings aren't easy. Blood work results aren't back yet from the lab but one of the Vets suggested that he might have a "stress induced ulcer". What's the best treatment and or diagnosis for it.

ANSWER:
Ulcers can be caused by stress, have you introduced a new ferret, or made any changes in your household? Since you mentioned that Skeeter only likes his food, then you probably haven't made any changes in his diet, however could he have chewed on anything that could have caused a blockage?

You haven't mentioned any previous signs of anything, other than just not eating, was he sleeping more, did he have any diarrhea, what did his poops look like? You also didn't say how old he is? He may be at the age for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) especially if he is lethargic and sleeping more.

Did the vet do a blood glucose test, he should have done that 'in house' whilst you were present? Until you get your results back, I would definitely start to feed Skeeter BABYFOOD, CHICKEN or TURKEY as soon as you can, if he has ulcers baby food will be easy for him to digest, his kibble is not. If he does have low blood sugar, the protein in baby food will be utilized quickly and will level off his sugar.

Even though he is a picky eater you need to feed him the baby food every 3-4 hours and feed him about 4-5 teaspoonful, warm it first and add a teaspoonful of water to make it easier for him to swallow. Try dribbling over his teeth until he gets the taste for it, do NOT give up, he will eat it and he needs it, he has to eat or he will die.