'Fo'..."Assuming the Position!"

by...Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP

Green poop - a very non-specific sign - it just means that food is moving through too fast. The normal brown color seen in feces is the end product of breakdown of old red blood cells. The pigment goes through a green stage called biliverdin, before it becomes brown (called stercobilin). So if it is going through at an accelerated rate, it never breaks all the way down, and has a green color to it. Anything that accelerates passage of food or causes diarrhea can result in green color - ECE, rapid food changes, lymphoma, just about anything.

Black tarry poop - Very suggestive of gastric bleeding and usually associated with gastric ulcers. You have to have significant bleeding in the stomach for the feces to turn black. The black color is the result of digestion of blood, which usually only occurs in the stomach.

Bloody poop - If you see frank blood in the poop - it is usually either from the large bowel or rectum ( if seen in small amounts) - or if there is a lot of blood, it could come from the entire length of the GI tract. Massive hemorrhage is seen either from severe gastric bleeds or shock in ferrets, and as one might imagine, is a really bad sign.

Birdseed poop - Generally a sign of maldigestion or malabsorption. Also non-specific, it can be seen with any disease that severely affects the small intestine. Most commonly seen with ECE, the individual seeds are usually undigested fat and starch complexes. When you see this, you should consider removing a ferret from kibble and going to a bland, easily digested supplement for a while.

Pencil-lead thin stools - Think partial obstruction - usually a foreign body.

**Helpful Hints**

"One thing I've found helpful is to make sure I'm really dealing with *black* stools, as opposed to very dark green, which can fool you. Put a little poop in a paper cup and mix it with a little water to lighten the color -- you shouldn't have much trouble telling if the result is green. Brett"

"This is an excellent suggestion, I have been fooled. Can also put them in a clear sandwich bag and examine better, thin sections up to the light and the green becomes apparent. Also, if really unsure bring the sample to the vet for a quick guiac test for blood. Patty"

Picture of "Fo" is courtesy of Jackie Hawley at dooknook@comcast.net and a SPECIAL thanks to Jackie Hawley and Christopher Bennett for the pics of the "poop" they so painstakingly got for me to use in this page...

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