Hairballs & Blockages

What is a hairball?

A hairball is defined as a small collection of hair or fur which is formed in the stomach of animals that is occasionally vomited up when it becomes too big.  Ferrets, along with rabbits and cows, are not able to regurgitate hairballs like cats can so it can be a life threatening situation. Usually during shedding season, the ferret would get a piece of hair stuck in their throat and make a nasty cough while trying to hack it out. That is not a hairball, that is just a piece of hair in their throat. 

How Serious is it?

When the hairball is left untreated, it can become a trichobezoar;  a mass of hair which is trapped in the gastrointestinal system – an extreme form of hairball. Since ferrets cannot vomit it the hairball up, a trichobezoar is most likely to form. The egg per week and its incredible Lecithin and Choline duo will help to smoothly move any ingested hair through the ferrets body, this will help prevent the hair from getting stuck and forming into one sticky situation of a Trichobezoar.  Please note that egg is not a treatment, it is a preventative and even though Trichobezoars are rare, they need veterinary assistance because they can be fatal if undetected.  Surgical intervention is often required.

There are also other ways to prevent the hairballs from forming.

1. Whole prey: Feeding adult whole prey helps by cleaning the insides and pushing the hair through the ferret, so it can also help to reduce the chance of a hairball forming. 
2. Brushing daily to remove excess loose hairs. It helps remove hairs which could then be groomed and ingested.
3. Changing bedding.  Remove bedding with hair, and wash/clean bedding as best as you can to remove any hairs. The more hairs that end up on bedding ends up making your ferret more itchy, so remove bedding and replace with fresh and clean bedding every couple of days.
4. Egg.  Raw Egg contains lecithin and choline, both are great for helping hair move through the digestive tract of your ferret.

The best and most efficient prevention is using multiple of these. Brushing daily during shedding season is essential, and along with the help of the egg, you would have a double whammy!

Eggs are you friend!

Eggs contain a small amount of natural carbs. Usually it is under 1g but when cooked it can increase just a little. Unlike the carbs in pet foods, this will not affect the ferret in any way since the egg is only a small percentage of their overall diet. The egg contain valuable fats and nutrients, (Lecithin) which are known to help cleanse and lubricate the internal structures of the ferret. Because of that, it is recommended to give a ferret at least 1 egg per week, and up to 2-3 eggs per week during shedding season. 

 

Lecithin emulsifies fat, breaking it down into small particles. This speeds up and improves the digestion of fats by enzymes because the surface area is increased. This is what makes Lecithin such an incredible hairball preventative. Lecithin aids liver function, keeps the arterial lining free from cholesterol and prevents kidney and gallstones from forming. Methionine, which is also found in eggs, is also essential in the formation of nucleic acid of the genetic material of every cell. It’s a powerful antioxidant, assists in gall-bladder function and detoxifies heavy metals and excess histamine levels from the body. 

High quality eggs are rich in vitamins A and D, as well as Choline. Choline is an essential water-soluble nutrient that is usually grouped in as part of the B-Vitamin complex. Although not technically a vitamin by strict definition, this organic compound is required for life’s most quintessential functions, including basic cellular structure, nutrient transport and metabolism. It overall helps to improve gastrointestinal motility. Although it is naturally synthesized in small amounts within the liver, a significant amount of choline must be consumed in the diet to maintain health. Choline exists in all living cells, but is probably best known as a major part of lecithin–the emulsifier that keeps fats from clumping together.  

Raw eggs from a clean source are actually known as a health tonic and the whole egg is known to eliminate stored toxins from the body.

Concerns about raw eggs? Click here!

Blockage Symptoms

Some Common and Severe symptoms of a hairball blockage would be:

- Small, skinny poops or no poop at all, Tarry or black poop.

- Lethargic / Weakness / Decreased activity / Collapse,

- Vomiting / Dry heaving, 

- Unable or refusal to eat / Decreased appetite, 

- Decreased body temperature. 
- Weight loss, 

- Pawing at the roof of the mouth, 

- Teeth grinding.

- Abdominal distension,

- Shock

- Death.

When you suspect you have a blockage caused by a hairball it must be treated immediately or the ferret may stop feeding and ultimately die due to dehydration. 

CLICK HERE FOR BLOCKAGE PROTOCOL

The Liver & It's Detoxification Process

The Liver.

The liver is one of the four major organs that eliminate toxins from the body. The other three organs involved are the kidneys, intestinal tract and skin. The liver detoxifies harmful substances whether they come from internal sources such as burning sugars, fats, protein, or from external sources like medications, drugs, hormone enhancers, food additives, preservatives, food colourings, sweeteners, flavour enhancers, chemicals used in agriculture, alcohols, volatile organic compounds, fumes, air pollution and many other factors. Many of the toxins that enter the body are fat soluble which means they dissolve only in fatty or oily solutions and not it water. They all must travel through the body and the first step in the detoxification process they will encounter is the liver. The liver has to convert fat soluble toxins into water soluble substances that can be excreted from the body.

Detoxification process:

The liver plays several roles in detoxification: it filters the blood to remove large toxins, synthesises and gets rid of bile full of cholesterol and other fat-soluble toxins, and the live enzymatically eliminates unwanted chemicals. The enzymatic process to dispose of toxins occurs in two phases: phase 1 (Oxidations) and phase 2 (Conjugation).

Phase 1 neutralizes the toxin or changes the toxic chemical to form activated intermediates which will then be neutralized by phase 2 of the enzyme system. This pathway converts a toxic chemical into a less harmful chemical and is achieved by oxidation, reduction and hydrolysis reactions. During this process, free radicals are produced and if there are too many it can damage the liver cells. With the help of antioxidant, it reduces the damage caused by free radicals. One important antioxidant for neutralizing the free radicals produced in phase 1 is glutathione (GHS) is oxidized to glutathione disulfide (GSSG). This antioxidant is required for one of the key phase 2 processes. When so many free radicals are produced from phase 1, the glutathione stops producing oxidative stress or liver damage. The toxins are then transformed into activated intermediates; therefore the rate at which phase 1 produces activated intermediates must be balanced by the rate at which phase 2 finishes their processing. Phase 2 is called the conjugation pathway because the liver cells add another substance such as cysteine, glycine, or a sulphur molecule to a toxic chemical to make it less harmful. As a result it makes the toxin water-soluble so that it may then be excreted from the body via watery fluids such as bile or urine. There are six phase 2 detoxification pathways:

1. Glutathione conjugation
2. Amino acid conjugation
3. Sulfation
4. Acetylation
5. Glucuronidation

These conjugation molecules join with specific enzymes to catalyze the reaction process. The liver is then able to turn drugs, hormones, and other various toxins into substances that are secreted from the body.