vaseline (petroleum jelly) for hairballs?

[mindy]

i always give vaseline for hairballs for ginny because that is what ferretlax is based with and ginny just loves it.

well, i just read on another ferret forum that this is bad. they said that petroleum based lax for a ferret can kill beneficial bacteria in their tummies.

this is what they said:

Please, when giving your ferret a laxative for hairballs, use a product that is free of petrolium. Petrolium can kill alot of the beneficial bacteria in the gut and your ferret needs that bacteria to stay healthy and to digest their natural food without issues.

Always look at the product you are buying and be sure its petrolium free and sugar free. This is very important!

this is a holistic ferret forum focusing on raw feeding but i thought i should mention it.

does anyone have any information on this? where could i even find a lax that is not petroleum based??

thanks!

[Tressie]

Hi Mindy,

Petroleum jelly is fine and has been recommended a number of times on the Ferret Health List. Its better than a laxative - my goodness!!

I suspect that the person who posted is a 'purist', in other words a bit of an extremist. Nothing wrong with that if that is their choice. But any extreme position is unbalanced, for example, extremists also advocate not using pred for insulinoma, etc.

Key with alternative health is to keep a balance and use it in a complimentary way with conventional medicine, and use common sense.

Tressie

[mindy]

Thank you Tressie

I am really glad to hear that. I am all for natural health care but like you said, extreme in any direction is not good.

What do they suggest you treat insulinoma with if not pred??