Green Poop!

Dear FerretLady:

Hello! I've been reading over your page at FerretCity frequently for a while now, as I had been considering & researching getting a ferret for some time, & I enjoy it tremendously, so first I'd like to thank you for your work on that & all the helpful information you've provided.

I have a question that I was wondering if you could help me with. I bought a ferret & everything he needs according to your list, on Saturday. My little guy (his name is Boogie) has been a sheer joy, & although it's only been 5 days that I've had him, I've fallen in love with him already! He is definitely the most fascinating pet I've ever owned.

My problem is this--I tend to be a worry-wart, & I'd read up on every possible illness that could potentially strike him before I even HAD him, because I wanted to know what I might be in for. His actions, appetite, & everything about him have seemed perfectly normal as to what I've read they SHOULD be. However, last night I needed to trim his nails, which were absolutely RAZOR-like, & I'd been holding off a few days to make sure he trusted me & felt comfortable, so now I just needed a way to keep him still in order to be able to trim the nails safely. I had read in Ferrets USA magazine that peanut butter (no more than 1/8 teaspoon) is an acceptable treat for ferrets, so what I did was, I spread a small amount of peanut butter in & around the mouth of an empty water bottle & had my son hold the bottle for Boogie to lick while I trimmed his nails.

The trimming went fine, & Boogie seemed overjoyed with the treat, but this morning when I got home from work (I work 3rd shift), I noticed some decidedly GREEN diarrhea in his litterbox! This is the first (& so far, only) time I've seen anything like it, but there was a lot of moisture in the litter around the green poo, so it looked to me like it was a large amount. As I said, I've read up on all the diseases they can get, & at first I panicked & almost rushed him to the vet right away; but he's acting completely normal, not like he feels at all ill...so I am unsure what to do! Are ferrets like children in that, if they ARE sickly, they will ACT sickly? I would think he would have a loss of appetite, or at least be a little less playful if nothing else.

I live in Ohio & it's horribly cold out right now, so I hesitate to take him out if it's not absolutely necessary, as well as paying for a trip to the vet only to be told that it was most likely because he's not used to peanut butter. I know you must be very busy, but I am really hoping you could give me a suggestion as to what you think I should do. Like I said, I do have the tendency to overreact, but since this is my first ferret I don't know if it could be the peanut butter or not, I just think that because I know that variations in my dog's diet have caused her to have diarrhea before. It was the greenish color that really alarmed me.

I apologize for the lengthiness of this email, I just wanted to make sure & provide you with enough information.

Thank you for your time, regardless, & again, for your work on FerretCity.

Melissa
 

Dear Melissa:

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