| This common, rapidly fatal condition is usually caused by swallowing foreign material such as rubber from soft pets toys, rubber from shoe soles, pencil erasers, protective tips from the bottom of chairs, hair balls and bits of rubber bands. Symptoms of the blockage may not appear immediately, the material may spend days to months in the stomach where it will cause periodic blockage as it rolls around. |
| As the stomach tries to push out the material, signs will include lethargy with loss of appetite and vomiting, stools may be small in amount, be black and sticky or non-existant. When the material moves back into the stomach, the ferret will seem better and resume his / her appetite. This may go on for weeks to months. |
| When the material is pushed into the intestine there probably is a complete blockage and food and fluids cannot be moved through. This results in rapid dehydration of the body tissues and fatal changes in the electrolyte balance. Death may occur within 24 to 48 hours. |
| Symptoms at this point include severe depression, dull lifeless looking eyes, bloating and tenderness of the adominal area and vomiting. If any of these signs are noticed then the ferret should be taken to the veterinarian immediately. |
