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Starting about 20 minutes ago, my ferret, Pumpkin, started making a weird... hacking noise? She's been eating and drinking fine, bathroom habits are the same, and my room is vacuumed daily, so I don't know what she could have gotten into to start this noise. Shes about a year and a half, very playful, and I've rarely heard this noise from her. I looked in her mouth and didn't see any hairs or something of that nature. I gave her some hairball lax about 5 minutes ago, and the last time she got it was about 2 days before that. I try to give it to her on a regular basis. She has been biting at herself a lot, and is biting right now as I type this. What is this noise she keeps making? Its really worrying me.
Ferrets make a lot of weird noises like that. They are also extremely itchy animals. If she is hacking, it might be a hairball, but it isn't really shedding time yet. Ferrets shed twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. It is possible she has a stomach ache and is trying to induce vomiting. It's also possible she ate something she shouldn't have. Keep an eye on her and watch to see if she stops eating and drinking and if her poops become black and tar-like. Bring her to the vet ASAP if you notice any of those. In addition to the ferret-lax, try massaging her stomach.
She's likely just coughing ... even animals need to cough from time to time.
