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Ferret close to death?
I have an albino Ferret named Buck. He's a healthy ferret, always has food and water available to him. His cage is clean with blankets in it to help keep warm. He has two brothers in the cage with him, and they all snuggle. They come out to play every day, and he's always romping around, his stool looks normal, eyes are alert and gums are healthy.
But sometimes, like this morning, I will find him almost completely lifeless. His body will physically be cold, he'll be stiff, and very unresponsive to any sort of touch. I've taken him to the vet for this every time I find him like this and they just warm him up and give him fluids. The only time he is dehydrated is when this happens (And I think the vet blames me for not giving enough water or something) but he ALWAYS has water, there are two water bottles and one water bowl that is always full. I check him frequently and the only time he's dehydrated is when he is in this "Condition".
I warmed him up with a heating pad and now he's moving, but his movements are very jerky.
Any ideas what keeps causing this? It only happens with my albino the other two are sable's and they NEVER have had this issue.
2 Answers
- 7 years agoFavorite Answer
Hmm..Seems as if hes ill, I would take him to a small animal vet, if you dont have the money for that then use this:
- RedLv 77 years ago
Ferrets go into what is called a "Dead Sleep" and their bodies cool off a great deal. The stiffness is unusual, the coldness and deep sleep is normal. They call it a dead sleep for a reason. ^_~
The stiffness however, bothers me. You should contact a specialist vet about it, your current vet seems to be...not up to ferret standards. Small animal vets don't always specialize in ferrets, you need to find one who does, or at least has a specialist available.
It's quite possible he's got a sleep disorder of some sort, but the dead sleep is keeping him out and that's why he's stiff.
If it truly is dehydration...most ferrets wake up every few hours to eat a bit and drink, if he's not, you should try to make sure he drinks a ton before bed. Do so by giving him a bowl of water with something irresistible mixed in(mine do duk soup or a small squirt of ferretone, I do this on REALLY hot days so they don't get too hot or dehydrate). This will coax him into drinking before bed even if he isn't very thirsty. Sounds like he's a heavy sleeper is all, and just doesn't drink enough before sleep!
