When you have a pet ferret is is important to get informed about your pet’s health and possible issues, so you are able to detect any change which can indicate that your furry ball needs vet’s help, in some cases even immediate.
Stomach bloat in ferrets is a less common condition but still happens and can be quite unpleasant, even life-threatening. In case you notice your ferret has enlarged swollen stomach, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, change of gum color make take him to the vet urgently.
I wanted to know more about this illness and here i am sharing with you i could find on the subject first to know what is bloat how to be able to recognize the symptoms and what to do.
Table of Contents
First to know what is bloat ?
Bloat or Gastric dilatation is a condition that usually affects dogs but ferrets can suffer from it too.
This condition occurs when the stomach is full of non-expelling gases. In normal circumstances the gas from the stomach would found its way out either through the mouth or intestinal tract. If this does not happen and gas stays inside causing the stomach to bloat.
Gas puts big pressure on the abdominal walls and when it becomes too high, the walls can be torn apart. Another more severe condition, which is usually mixed with Gastric dilatation or Bloat is Gastric dilatation Volvulus ( GDV ). This one starts the same as bloat but the next step is torsion or twisting of the stomach.
Abdominal twisting cuts off blood supply and blocks gases so they cannot escape. This is a truly life-threatening condition that can lead to death in a matter of minutes.
Why Bloat happens in ferrets ?
The reasons are numerous :
- It can be a matter of genetic
- Anatomy
- Age – older ferrets ( over 3 years old ) are in higher risk but also weaning ferrets
- Poor diet – if your ferret’s diet is rich in carbohydrates then you can expect this condition to happen
- Bacterial overgrowth – usually the anaerobe bacteria Clostridium .Its presence in ferret’s intestine is quite normal but overgrowth may lead to bloat
Bloat treatment
Bloat is a condition that requires immediate medical attention. You are not able to know if bloat will develop in GDV which even more serious condition so it is better to seek help from your vet right away.
Your vet will perform physical examination first and will most probably give some pain relievers or antibiotics and then will take X-rays for your ferret to check if the stomach is twisted or not.
If the stomach is not twisted but it’s bloated, your vet must help gases to find way out. This can be done by inserting a big needle directly into the stomach allowing gases to come out and relieve the stomach from the pressure. Another way for gas to goes out is through the mouth so maybe vet will decide to put a tube through ferret’s mouth and throat ( gullet ) and release gas that way.
If your pet’s stomach is twisted, urgent surgery will be performed in order to untwist it. Your ferret will get some medication as well, most likely for pain, gut motility, inflammation. It is said that if torsion happened once, there is a great chance to repeat so Gastropexy surgery is highly recommended. The point of this surgery is to fix the stomach to the body wall to prevent twisting again.
What can you do to prevent Bloat ?
After reading the reasons why Bloat in ferrets happens in the first place, I am sure you see that there is no bunch of things you can do to prevent it. Of course you should provide a high protein ( animal source only ) diet for your furry ball.
Also if you have older ferret ( 3 years or more ) then regular vet check up-s should be done every 6 months. As it is seen in young ferrets, especially during their transit period when they switch from milk to solids ( sometimes that can influence bacteria Clostridium to overgrown ) , you should introduce new types of food, very slowly and gradually.
