Elara Had a Blockage (on New Years Day) - STORY TIME
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- In today's video, I go over what happened on New Years Day when Elara (my 3 year old ferret) had a blockage. I go over how I assed and treated the situation.
DISCLAIMER:
This video is a retelling of how I handled an emergency situation with one of my ferrets.
I know there will be people who watch this video and disagree with how I handled the situation. That's fine. We all handle situations differently depending on dozens of factors.
HAVING SAID THAT, this video is NOT meant as a fail safe guide for every ferret owner to use in an emergency situation or as a substitute for veterinary care. Though I share information, this video is not intended to be a guide.
The intentions of this video is to educate people on the reality of emergency situations while opening discussions that help to destigmatize them. You ARE NOT a bad ferret owner if you end up in an emergency situation.
Emergency situations are a GUARANTEE for any ferret owner, and if you're planning to or do own ferrets, there will come a time that you are put into one.
Please do your research and be prepared.
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I had a scare similar to this many years ago! My ferret had torn apart a hammock and eaten part of it; I was terrified, but feeding water, vaseline- as well as extra egg yolks; he was able to pass it all (gross, but I stayed up all night picking through his poo with gloves to make sure he got all pieces out) it was so scary! He got a vet check after, the vet commended me for my quick thinking; and I recommend ANYONE who has ferrets have a series of plans for emergencies such as these! But really, what you did was perfect and I'm so glad you and Elara got out okay!
That must have been terrifying. I am so happy she's okay.
Glad she's okay! You're a terrific ferret mom.
Thank goodness she’s okay! 🥰 That must have been a scary day and night 😱 I don’t know if you have one but it might be a good idea to assemble a Ferret Emergency Kit 👍 I have one and it has helped me a number of times when things happend with my boys.
Mine contains the following:
- an extra set of all their medications,
- about 30 Synulox pet antibiotic tablets (for those situations where they have a little wound and I want to make sure that it doesn’t get infected even after cleaning it thoroughly or for when they get gastrointestinal infections),
- a large tube of Kat-a-lax (pretty much Vaseline but slightly sweetened to make sure they’ll like to eat it ‘cause my boys don’t really like Vaseline),
- a couple of syringes,
- a small package (about 300 grams) of a good kibble,
- 3 little bottles of Royal Canin Recovery Liquid (to help them get some easy calories should they have issues eating their normal food),
- pet nail clippers,
- a tiny little brush,
- some non-stick bandages,
- some bandage tape (the old school stuff),
- betadine,
- cotton swabs,
- cotton balls,
- wet wipes,
- tissues,
- a small trimmer with multiple attachments (I use a pink Veet one because it so small and it’s cordless so that works a lot easier if I have to shave a little piece of fur away to get to a cut/bite/wart or what have you),
- some extra flea and earmites drops (they only use those in summer though),
- some quality feline probiotics,
- some unscented mild baby soap (should I ever need to wash a ferret, though I never have had the need before 🤣).
Their passports and other papers are also in the kit in the side pocket.
It’s a bit of a large pack but it helps to have it all at the ready! And should you have an emergency that requires you to evacuate or something you just have to grab the kit and you’ll have enough to see them through the first couple of days…
I also have a similar kit for my dogs. 😊
That is awesome that you are so prepared for any emergency for your ferrets! I may get ferrets when my pet rats are no longer around (that’s the nicest way I can put it lol) But I am truly terrified that an emergency will happen that I can’t treat at home on a day (or time) that my exotic vet isn’t open. I don’t know what I would do if it’s nothing the emergency vet could treat, or hold off until the exotic vet is open. I just know I would feel terrible and like it’s my own fault for it happening, so that’s why I may not get ferrets in the future. What should I do if a situation like that presented itself?
Learned something new and kept ferrets for nearly 20 years. Why have you stopped making videos?
As peeps on the FNF discord know, our blockage with my little daenerys girl did not go as well and ended with two emergency surgeries and 11.5k total in care. She is... miraculously, still with us. We did and still do have Vaseline on hand and started out doing emergency blockage protocol it just... didn't work! I would also recommend getting all ferrets used to something like 'Carnivore care' so that if you need to syringe feed them ever, it's not a struggle!! There is a lot of good advice on how to get ferrets used to new tastes out there!
I just lost my little Mo (Gizmo) this past weekend..😢 I really wish I had found this before. I had no idea what to do, but he passed in the middle of the night. My world feels empty, and so depressing right now.😢
Yeah that stuff is no fun. I knew of the pumpkin, so that's my usual go to, but I also pick up some baby food( can't remember which type at the moment) and duck soup for some things to try to get them to eat if its been a while, and then flavorless pedialyte for more hydration as it has more electrolytes than water and it's what kept my ferret in the past from dying when she was getting extremely dehydrated from whatever was happening with her. It ended up being unknown, her white blood cells were rapidly increasing but the vet didn't know why. Ferret care can be very scary.
as soon as i watched this video, i ordered vaseline and syringes. they came in today, and i feel so much weight lifted off my shoulders. thank you for talking about this.
Happy New Year, sorry it was kind of crappy (no pun intended). Thank you for this video! I’ve been in a similar situation and I 💯 agree that anyone with a ferret will or has had some kind of scare/emergency. I also absolutely love your disclosure at the beginning 😂 I put them in a lot of my videos too. All ferrets and situations are not created equal. I actually just bought a ferret emergency chart that list all kinds of symptoms and remedies you can do at home while waiting to see the vet or assessing the situation. It’s one of the best charts I’ve seen.
My weasel boy is my emergency ferret. He seems to be the one that always keeps me up at night. He broke his humerus when he was 4 months old and we had a blockage scare 1.5 years ago and about 6 months ago he had a vaccine reaction (which he didn’t have the first 3 years he had his shots). Thankfully we were still at the vet when it happened.
I have a similar chart, it's super handy! Elara seems like my problem ferret right now. She's always falling off of things and smacking herself on things.... ferrets are so stressful sometimes.
@@FriendlyNeighborhoodFerrets it’s so true. I call Weasel my million dollar baby 😂
This makes me so happy knowing you could have done nothing and not even realized she was in pain but the fact you even tried makes me so happy
Because of your adrenal advice my Oprah went to the hospital and I am very thankful to you. Bless you!
I had one of my baby ferrets eat a small hole in a blanket. It passed but it was enough to give me a stroke. The two of the babies are constantly getting my nerves going. They both had ece and even though they were quarantined my elders got it. It was hell for two months but everyone pulled through and are healthy right now. This was right before their surgeries. One was getting a mct removed and the other their implant lol. This is my year so far. I wish ya luck on your move. I think you handled this well. I am a panic mom I run to the vet for everything. My vet is right down the street. Trust me I am trying to pump my brakes and learning along the way lol.
Well done Kenya.
By watching your videos I am becoming more and more convinced on finally not having a ferret as pet. :(
Doesn't it seem like it's always late at night, on weekends or holidays that ferret emergencies happen 😂 not sure why, but it just happens like that most times. Glad your baby made it through! Luckily my vet takes after hours emergency calls for exotics (for cats or dogs you'd have to go to the 24hr emergency clinic).
So glad to hear that Elara is doing well! Blockage protocol is always a scary time, but I 100% believe you handled the situation perfectly and I would've done the exact same thing. Good luck with the move! And also kudos to you for coming off your meds, I recently did the same. Should've done it years ago 😅
Omg . How scary . Yes vasoline is part of my E kit. So glad she's better . I had to treat one of my babies last year also . She pulled thru . It was scariest ever
On the 8th of Jan I went to give my ferrets their dinner but my boy Murphy wasnt eating. I was instantly worried so I set up a hospital cage in my room to keep a close eye. I checked on him every half hour and he was lethargic, looking like he wanted to eat but couldn't, also drinking loads of water. A few hours later, no poops, so I started blockage protical, I didnt have any vaseline so i melted coconut oil and syringed that. In the morning he was the same, so I just continued with oil and water. By 10.30 he was still the same but I decided it had been too long so took him to the emergency vet, he really declined over the car ride. Vets said his body temp was low and they suspected blockage (wow, great detective work) so they did an xray and saw a big blockage and I made the tough decision to operate. He did great in surgery and they managed to push through a chunk of bone 'the size of a thumb nail'. By the next morning they said he was doing really well, getting more energy but they wanted to keep him longer because he wasnt eating on his own yet. They said we could pick him up at 10. At about 9.30 we got the really unexpected call to say his heart stopped beating and they weren't able to revive him. £1400 down and I dont even get him back alive. It really hit us so hard. I'm always thinking about what I could've done differently, would vaseline have been better? Would he still be alive if I had gone straight to the vet? Could he have passed it on his own? Theres no way of knowing of course but my one regret is that I didnt insist he came home the night after surgery. Maybe it wouldnt have lengthened his life, but it wouldve meant he died in a place he knows and with people he loves. I know this is a sad story but I hope it helps someone make those difficult decisions when they're in that position
Luna passed away in pretty similar situation a few months ago. Her blockage was from a hairball and after making it through surgery, she crashed about 12 hours later, while still at the vet, due to internal bleeding. I made the decision to euthanize her instead of making her suffer more. Before taking her into the vet, I had performed blockage protocol with her the exact same way as I did with Elara. Unfortunately, sometimes there's nothing you can do, which is so hard to accept :(
I'm sorry for you loss.
@@FriendlyNeighborhoodFerrets just seems like they're badly designed animals
Glad Elara is ok!
I am loving the description of the poop
I did also had a good laught out of that description!
So happy your baby is okay , thank you for always being so real and transparent! I personally have learned so much from you! Congrats on you new home 🏡 ♥️
Thank you for this video. Your a great owner for the education in this tough situation! Love your content and honesty!
my ferret is lethargic, can't walk propetly and sleeps a lot. she has a dry nose and didn't got to potty today. the vet is closed until tomorrow at 11 A.M. so i need emergency help... can someone please help me. i gave her some water, she doesn't eat. i don't know what to do. and the vets are not specialised with ferrets. i hope she gets until tomorrow. i am watching her, but it hurts to see her like this. it is the first time. she never had anything. thank you
My girl had a blockage recently( with a rubber band ) and I’m not sure if she still has it in her. but my vet recommended plain yogurt for some reason. But I only have her a drop and a lot of vaseline and now I think she’s fine. But still very drowsy.
I'm a relatively new ferret owner, thanks for the ferret emergency tips. I haven't switched my ferrets to raw yet but am planning to start the process soon. Has this experience changed your feelings on feeding whole prey at all?
Not at all! It's just made me realize I needed to pay more attention to how quickly they're eating it. I'm still feeding my girls meaty bones as often as I had been before
@@FriendlyNeighborhoodFerrets I don’t have ferrets yet, but what would you suggest I do if something where to happen to one of them and my exotic vet wasn’t open, I’m not able to treat it at home, and my emergency vet can’t treat it or even hold it off? By the way I admire the way you handled this situation. I feel it’s very important to stay calm in a situation like this and think, which is what you did. ❤️❤️❤️
Been there. Bigby wolfed his chicken grinds a few year back and got a big joint part half the size of my thumb nail stuck. Honestly was scariest day ever and of course it was a Sunday in pure ferret way of having an emergency. Was so happy when he pooped it out and he looked so relieved to you could just see all the discomfort leave his little face after it was out and he was back to wanting out the pen and playing the next morning.
What do you think about Ferret Lax? Or is it just better to use Vaseline? Great and important video.
I don't recommend ferret lax (or ferrovite/any pastes like that) for any ferrets. Ferret lax contains malt extract which is extremely bad for ferrets and basically jump kicks them into insulinoma (aka pancreas cancer). A better hairball prevention is raw egg, which should be given to ferrets once a week.
@@FriendlyNeighborhoodFerrets Wow. I had no idea! Okay… so Vaseline it is! I’m glad your channel is here. After so many ferrets over so many years i am still learning something new.
Oh man we had our first scare when we JUST got our first 2 ferrets... Luckily i watched a lot of videos about ferrets and did read a lot about ferrets before we got ours so i LUCKILY knew what to do. But our scare was that 1 of our first ferrets found a face mask, how? We don't know because they are in the bathroom and they are not aloud there (just for their own safety), but due to being able to go behind the machines etc they are not aloud in there. So somehow he found one, maybe from a visitor we had earlier that day we don't know and he ate all the elastic wire from 1 side of the mask... We found out about this on friday evening when our special vet already closed. When we found the mask hidden under our water lizzards terarrium, I gave him Vaseline and water right away. And LUCKILY everything came out in the next couple hours... I saved the mask so i could measure everything with the other side that was still intact and got him checked after the weekend when the vet was open again and they couldn't find any blockage or so ever, his stomach looked and sounded completely fine, his poops where fine, his eating was fine and his weight was fine. I'm so so happy nothing bad happened to him we just got our 2 babies... Now we have 3 ferrets and loving them loads and always have our little Emergency Kit at hand with vasaline, syringe, cornstarch etc.
Hey is this your first time doing
Having to do blockage)(or have you done it before)
I've done it a few times, this was just the worst of them
Oh I’m so sorry(i’ve been watching your videos a lot and I always keep up(and I can’t believe this happened on New Year’s so sorry
Does this change your mind on feeding raw at all?
Nope not at all! I blame myself for being careless, not the food she was eating. I've been raw feeding for over 2 years and this is the first time anything like this has happened. Now that it has, I've learned my lesson and hopefully it won't be repeated.
awh no :( i clicked so fast
There’s a story behind all my rats
First thing I got a boy
The beginning of 2021
I loved him I was so happy he was my favorite
His name was Harry
I don’t know why but I think I was trying to do something about my name
H a r p e r I guess I was trying to copy then I got another rat
in the middle of 2021 I was so happy it’s name it was a girl it was from Petco named it Helga
I don’t know why I picked a strange name but it’s OK
And then my last right was from the same Petsmart that I got my rat hairy hairy hairy it’s name was door so then it had a baby don’t know who the dad is done I kept one of the babies in the same cage then I decided to move them and then we had more babies cause they were all the same cage then we sold the babies it wasn’t really working somebody wanted them it was actually kind of going well
So that is a big story about my rats but to take from my story I’ve been wanting a ferret for so long been preparing and looking up and I don’t believe everything I see on the Internet but I try to look up on certain websites and it gets kind of complicated but I’m trying to stay so that’s the moral of the story don’t get rats when you wanna share it but I didn’t want a ferretthat time
You deserve more subscribers than this! Let me help