i have a ferret about 5 years old...recently hes been losing alot of weight...hes so small and fragile..u can feel his bones and ribs and everything..i want to know if their is anything i can do so he can gain some weight?
2007-02-02 15:14:59 · 10 answers · asked by nessa 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Ask your vet to see if there is a medical reason for his weight loss. If not, try to figure out a better diet for your ferret. Good Luck!!!
2007-02-02 15:23:09 · answer #1 · answered by Melinda 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with most here - your ferret needs to see a vet ASAP. Losing that much weight, especially in winter, is a positive sign of illness. These little guys hide weakness and illness well, so by the time you are seeing signs like this, the problem has been around for a while. Absolutely do NOT feed your ferret fruit. Ferrets are obligate carnivores and only need protein. In this case, since the problem could be insulinoma, sugary foods like fruit are the worst possible thing he could eat. See what a vet says and then make some high calorie/high protein soup - chicken, lard (yes, lard - for rapid weight gain) a little olive oil and broth. Use skin and all with the chicken, mostly dark meat. Remove all bones and puree the mix. This can be poured into ice cube trays and frozen - one cube equals one serving. Use at least one full cup of lard. It may take some encouragement - touching a fingerful to his mouth or even using a feeding syringe, but once they get a good taste, ferrets love this. A variety of recipes can be found on different forums.
2007-02-02 16:28:54 · answer #2 · answered by Susan R 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its very important that you take your ferret to a Vet that knows all about ferrets-a exotic animal Vet. for to be that skinny is not normal and your ferret is ill. There is ferret food that is a high calorie supplement-is a paste and comes in a tube but since your ferret is losing weight abnormally you need to find out why and only a vet can tell.Feed him chicken thoroughly cooked but make sure NO BONES-do not overfeed, offer some fruit and make sure he is drinking suficient water -important he does NOT get dehydrated.But the bes thing you can do for your ferret is to take him to the vet.
2007-02-02 15:29:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Take him to a vet. At age 5, your ferret is getting old and weight loss is a symptom of two very common diseases, adrenal disease and insulinoma. You need to get him to a vet for a proper diagnosis and treatment. Please check out the link below for more information on these and other common ferret illnesses.
Good luck.
2007-02-02 15:32:35 · answer #4 · answered by Pandagal 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Weight loss is a red fag when it comes to ferrets. Take your fuzzy to the vet ASAP.
2007-02-05 17:05:39 · answer #5 · answered by Naru 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes they can be under wight, you should see your vet about a diet that helps it gain weight, for a short time, my female ferret did the same thing
2007-02-03 02:37:11 · answer #6 · answered by ferrets4ever 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unexplained weight loss in all animals is a pretty universal sign of illness. Your best bet is to take him to a vet to see if there is an underlying problem.
2007-02-02 15:26:22 · answer #7 · answered by babydancingnlovinit 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
yes
2007-02-03 09:58:11 · answer #8 · answered by jerry 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ANY animal can be too skinny!
2007-02-02 15:55:01 · answer #9 · answered by ilt_21 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yeah i think so?
2007-02-02 15:21:55 · answer #10 · answered by amos465 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋