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Post by katt on Jun 26, 2010 22:46:22 GMT -5
Koda has been having a lot of little, stinky, smelly, seedy poops lately. Is there a reason for this? Should I be worried? He is pooping regularly, but they are smelly and seedy and some of them (not all) are pretty small. Is there something I should watch for or could he be allergic to something in his diet perhaps?
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Post by luci on Jun 26, 2010 23:56:50 GMT -5
What has he had the last few meals? Anything new? New treats? It sounds like something is zipping through the digestive tract too quickly.
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Post by katt on Jun 27, 2010 0:22:38 GMT -5
Nothing new. Just the usual chicken, turkey neck (which I guess is fairly new, but new as in the last month or 2), liver, rodents, etc.
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Post by Heather on Jun 27, 2010 1:15:20 GMT -5
Seedy poops usually signify undigested fats. That would also increase the smell as it's undigested. What you need to do is keep a food log and see when these seedy poops occur and if they coincide with a type of food, how much skin is on the necks all that type of thing. The mind is a fickle thing.....writing it down will possibly clear up this issue ciao
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Post by katt on Jun 27, 2010 2:44:58 GMT -5
Man another thing to keep track of. lol Should I cycle through some different foods then? Like feed only chicken for a week, and then feed only beef for a week, then turkey, etc?
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Post by sherrylynne on Jun 27, 2010 10:19:59 GMT -5
Not really. If he's not digesting a particular food, it will show up pretty quickly. They can also get that type of poop from being stressed for whatever reason as well.
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jun 27, 2010 10:48:52 GMT -5
Since chicken is more likely to be an issue than the other items. You may want to take it off the menu for a while. If that does not help, you may want to take all poultry off the menu for a while.
Other things that affect digestion in ferrets: 1. stress (good and bad stress - hot weather, boredom, etc. loss of a favorite toy or hammock, lack of a den to escape to, etc.) 2. hormones. Hormonal fluctuations, particularly in the Spring. It has been my experience/opinion that adrenal activity can speed things up......ferret get more hyper and their system speeds up with increased adrenal activity. Hormones cause stress an cause immune system fluctuations and stress. 3. Immune system fluctuations can cause IBD flare ups and/or weaken the immune system such that opportunistic bacteria that are normally present in the bowel can result in overgrowth. Thing like Giardia, coccidia, pasturella, etc. can require treatment with antibiotics.
I gotta run, I'll post more later about some things to try (like probiotics)
-jennifer
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Post by Heather on Jun 28, 2010 13:11:35 GMT -5
Another thing to remember is Koda has just recently had surgery to remove an obstruction (I'm sure I don't have to remind you about that one : but it may take some time before his digestive track is completely healed. Just because things appear to be all better on the outsided doesn't mean that everything is completely healed on the inside. Just a thought. I know that when I had surgery, I wasn't allowed to take any hard contact for a full year because it takes that long to be absolutely certain of a complete heal. ciao
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Post by katt on Jun 30, 2010 3:53:07 GMT -5
Hmm that is a good point Heather. Thank you guys. His poops seem to be more solid now, but definitely still seedy. I am still feeding the chicken though because I need to feed him what is left before it goes bad. I have to restock the freezer before I leave for the week anyways, so I will try to get beef and turkey and such.
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