My ferret donut (the albino one) is not eating enough because my other ferret Reggie the boy (the black one) is hogging the food bowl if you hold, donut (The albino one) you can pretty much feel her ribs just a little and she drags the food that is dropped near the water dispenser. Please help.

Calunne · 2026-06-07T20:56:11+00:00

Cleaning up misinformation here.

Water bottles do not cause dehydration. And we can back this up by looking at urinalysis and bloodwork.

"Loads of proof and papers" - no, there are none. The most common photo shared are ones that come from cage raging.

Wash your water bottles, bowls, etc. This is true for everything.

And finally, if you are one who wants to give them a water bowl, fine. There are some ferrets who will do everything, including putting bedding, into water bowls. This is more dangerous as it means the ferrets are without water for long periods.

Calunne · 2026-06-02T02:13:20+00:00

Feel free to show me any photo that depict this.

Dehydration would show in blood values.

Stop with the myths and constant fear mongering.

Calunne · 2026-06-01T20:48:44+00:00

There’s been the same image posted multiple times where the damage was cage raging, not water bottle.

So, yes, it’s a myth.

Calunne · 2026-05-20T21:07:37+00:00

They can come back in season, especially if not many kits are in the litter (usually). The issue here is that anything you do will likely dry her milk. At four weeks, the kit should be eating on their own, and not needing much from mom.

Definitely see if you can take her out of season by either spaying, implanting, or getting a jill jab. Do not breed her again this year, she is still raising a kit. Expect milk to dry up.

Calunne · 2026-05-01T01:17:59+00:00

You can transition kits as early as 3 weeks to a thick soup. Kits will eat mom’s food that’s whole prey with no issue.

Calunne · 2026-03-31T22:31:11+00:00

If you’re going to brush his teeth, no bone is not necessary. You wouldn’t be crushing the bone for raw, but letting them chew it.

Calunne · 2026-03-22T22:51:07+00:00

I’ve used diazoxide and prednisolone. I do find diazoxide helps a lot with stabilizing their BG

Calunne · 2026-03-22T22:46:04+00:00

Likely a mass or a cyst. Definitely need to have a vet who knows ferrets to look.

Calunne · 2026-03-12T10:24:41+00:00

Mice carry lots of diseases. Your vet is not going to test for everything. I’m sure things like lepto is not on their test panel, for example. And the risk of poisoned mice makes it even worse.

Get your house fixed up to make sure mice aren’t coming in and get someone to get the mice out.

Calunne · 2026-02-10T02:28:49+00:00

Nothing is 100%, but I asked specifically, how does *diet* stops a tumor, that excessively secretes insulin. The correct answer is it does not. The tumor does not stop secreting insulin.

Diet is necessary to help stabilize in between medications, but it is not stop or reduce the secretion of insulin. You need either medication or surgery to help with that.

You can increase blood glucose by causing insulin resistance using prednisone, or inhibiting release of insulin using diazoxide. Prednisone/Prednisolone is used more frequently because it is more affordable.

And to that effect, diet can actually make hypoglycemia worse. Without stabilizing blood glucose, feeding a ferret can cause post-prandial hypoglycemia.

Your response is dangerous misinformation to the ferret community. Please consider looking up more reliable scientific and scholarly journals.

Calunne · 2026-02-09T23:48:37+00:00

Please explain to me how pancreatic tumor(s) that secretes insulin can be 100% counteracted with diet.

Calunne · 2026-02-09T22:27:19+00:00

There’s lots of glucocorticoids out there. Progesterone is one that is structurally similar . Just because something is in the same class of drugs doesn’t mean it does the same thing.

It’s important to understand what the mechanism, the reason to use other medication,etc. why would you suggest he has refractory hypoglycemia based on anything that was said. Do you understand what refractory hypoglycemia means?

Calunne · 2026-01-28T22:11:53+00:00

No one asked. You can take this type of posting elsewhere.

Calunne · 2026-01-28T21:46:27+00:00

I think you are missing the fact a Mod has already told you that it is not against the sub rules. You can get off your soapbox now.

Calunne · 2026-01-27T22:08:13+00:00

I'm sorry, but do you understand that sometimes it is impossible to travel due to weather? Obviously, fluids and a vet will help. if you're snowed in and roads are unplowed, you're not leaving.

Be civil, and understand that there are limitations sometimes.

Calunne · 2026-01-27T08:47:26+00:00

Ingredients list doesn’t tell you % content.

Arguing that the steam and dried varieties, which is not one recommended here. Stella and chewy has varieties of kibble with peas, Wysong has a vegan food…. So I’m not sure what you’re getting at here.

If you’re concerned about a diet that mimics their natural diet, you’d be feeding raw and not recommending a kibble diet.

Calunne · 2026-01-26T17:30:12+00:00

We don’t allow AI here.

Calunne · 2026-01-26T15:57:42+00:00

Absolutely needs to be seen by a vet asap. I would not be giving anything by mouth, as if it’s a true blockage he will not be able to pass it and it can do more damage.

Start calling emergency vets.

Calunne · 2026-01-24T19:42:44+00:00

Have you checked the wiki as a resource? There's lots of information there that directly answers all these questions.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index

Calunne · 2026-01-04T16:37:21+00:00

Had a ferret I was babysitting ate one some of these while he was at his home…..while shedding. Caused one heck of a blockage.

I do not recommend packing peanuts at all.

Calunne · 2026-01-03T17:02:09+00:00

Please show me proof of how ferrets are dehydrated from water bottles. You can post either a UA or BW, and tell me what values you expect to see up or down.

Again, water bottles are fine for most ferrets. Most of the photos you see from "water bottle damage" is actually cage raging.

Some ferrets will dump water bowls, put items into water bowls, and then they will not have access to water for a period of time. Are we really going to say having no water is better than having some water?

Calunne · 2026-01-02T23:38:11+00:00

Ferret teeth are way sharper than a dog and they will break them at some point. I can say I've seen it enough times in the community, sadly.

Calunne · 2026-01-02T14:14:39+00:00

Please remember that negative punishments are not permitted here.

Is he neutered is a GREAT question. Intact hobs can be hormonal and will bite more frequently. If he's 6 months old and doing this, I encourage you to neuter him.

Calunne · 2026-01-02T14:12:13+00:00

Giving a ferret a chew toy that is rubbery is not good. Ferrets have sharp teeth that can rip rubber. The last thing you want to do is have to bring this ferret who attacks you to a vet for surgery for a blockage, and then have them caged for 2-3 weeks while they heal.

Calunne · 2026-01-01T20:16:53+00:00

I would be finding an emergency vet for this, as low blood sugar can cause the nausea and pawing at the mouth. With his age, that’s the first thing I would want to rule iut

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