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Post by mayhemkb on May 6, 2009 9:41:16 GMT -5
No improvements. But no steps back. Garrison chewed a bit bigger piece before spitting it out yesterday. Twig has decided he doesn't want to move up in size for chunks right now, as long as he is eating them. They still won't eat meat outside of soupies. They are eating practically no kibble (about 1/8-1/4 cup total when it's available at this point). Next week we will go kibble free and see if it helps them over the hump.
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Post by mayhemkb on May 8, 2009 12:39:16 GMT -5
Rotten Golden Jelly Poo again. I am thinking the venison while tasting good is not doing wonders for their system. They lose the jelly poo when they miss a serving of venison. Pepcid AC was helping a little-but it is back full force today.
I'll pick up some pork for a trial this weekend.
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Post by mayhemkb on May 11, 2009 11:04:14 GMT -5
Well, they liked the pork. Fingers crossed on jelly poo status. It resolved as soon as venison was off the menu. . .
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Post by tss on May 12, 2009 11:53:50 GMT -5
It's good to hear that the poop problem was figured out..
Hopefully the poop will not return.
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Post by tss on May 18, 2009 12:47:37 GMT -5
How are their doing diet wise right now???
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Post by mayhemkb on May 18, 2009 13:01:07 GMT -5
Garrison is moving up to bigger chunks of meat. He really likes fresh pork. Twig is moving up too but they will still go on a hunger strike when presented with just meat and no soupie. They have not been keen on bones of any sort either.
A friend in ferrets suggested giving fuzzy mice one more spin and I may just do that.
They appear to really have a hard time with meat GI wise. I have to give them BID doses of pepcid to keep the golden jellies away. I figure once the bones are being eaten it will add some more bulk, but need to figure out the source of the "jelly" since it clears up when I am on the run and they only get soupie. . .
I just keep repeating "patience" to myself. They'll switch eventually. . .
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Post by tss on May 18, 2009 19:03:45 GMT -5
Do you get all of your meat at the same store?? Maybe the store doesn't handle the meat properly?? I'm sure their stomachs will eventually settle on the meat but I am also wondering why their poops would do that.
It could also be because they aren't currently eating bone, have your tried crushing some bones for them?? Like chicken or duck, or even rabbit?? I'm sorry if I asked about crushing them before, sometimes it is hard to keep up when I'm mentoring a few different stubborn ferrets at once.. You could also go ahead and get some pre-made raw to feed on the side, it have a LOT of bone in to so even if it makes up a small portion of their diets it should make a difference.
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Post by mayhemkb on May 21, 2009 15:00:38 GMT -5
Well we bagged up the venison ourselves so we know that was ok, and I am trying pork from a different store right now. The Jellies reminds me of colitis stool from humans and other animals but colitis usually is orange and has a very distinct smell-not like the golden jellies. . .
I have not tried crushed bone for about a month. They are just getting to the point where they both are eating tenderized chunks without protest and they don't flip when they actually hit a piece they have to chew more than once or twice. I got their tummies settled and have been reducing their kibble content over the last few days while leaving some meat in canned food (what we make the soupies from) to see if I can get them to start eating their meat outside of soupie. Just started with the canned food option so we'll see how it goes. . .
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Post by mayhemkb on May 27, 2009 12:30:00 GMT -5
DO'H!
Now we have vomit and slime for poopie from Garrison. I'll back off the meat for a few days (Normally stabilizes his tummy) and see what happens then find different meat. . .
Twig is doing ok and picking up on the canned food thing-he doesn't even eat kibble anymore unless it is given as a treat.
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Post by mayhemkb on Jun 2, 2009 9:28:42 GMT -5
OK NO coccidia, Garrison is now on Amoxi and pepcid after mucous poop began to include large amounts of frank blood. . .
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Post by tss on Jun 3, 2009 20:26:45 GMT -5
Grrr.. Sorry for excuses but we had family come up.. And 3 people tried breaking into my house.
I'm sorry to hear about Garrison. Perhaps his immune system isn't up to handling raw foods??, it is odd that he has had problems for this long.
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Post by mayhemkb on Jun 4, 2009 12:41:16 GMT -5
I am thinking his IBD may prevent a switch. We had it 95% under control with the Beef EVO soupies and EVO Red Bites kibble-it has been raging since beginning the switch. I still advocate Raw for IBD ferrets especially with my experiance with Arte, but I think I am going to pull Garrison out of the transition since he cannot seem to stomach any of the types of protien we tried for more than a week before they cause big issues with his IBD. I'll continue on with Twig though-just give me a week to get Garrison out of the sad, droop he is in and I'll be back with Twig updates.
Twig is in stasis right now because of Garrison's health. . .but doing well.
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Post by Heather on Jun 10, 2009 2:07:24 GMT -5
Hi, I'm just popping in to give you a helping hand....your mentor has had to pull out of mentoring for a bit as her ferret has become very ill and requires a lot of care. I'm going to take it up for a bit and possibly see about getting you another mentor. I know that you've got one ferret with IBD (Garrison) and the other ferret (Twig) is handling the switch ok? Have you tried feeding Garrison either pumpkin or squash while feeding the meat? I'm just curious, I've had a couple of IBD ferrets and I know that this whole switching thing can be very difficult on them. Have you tried slippery elm to help his tummy? What are your guys eating at the moment? and where are they at in their switch? I will check in with you tomorrow and see how things are going. ciao
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Post by mayhemkb on Jun 10, 2009 8:54:03 GMT -5
Tell Maria thanks and send my best wishes for her sick little one.
With Garrison he was more stubborn about pumpkin/squash than he was about meat. He refused anything with them in it. I could blend it into puree, and add a few drops and he would refuse to eat. I tried some powdered eggshell on my own to see if that would add some bulk since it helped Arte when he was transitioning. Nada. (Though while writing this the thought of mixing the tasteless benefiber mix in with his soupie.) He always began ok if he would eat the meat-but in 4-7 days he would become lethargic, and he would get the "golden jelly poos". They could be curbed (but not entirely) with some pepcid BID but I don't like depending on pepcid long term and my experiance with Arte was that pepcid and antacids decreased his ability to digest raw. Things came to a head about a week ago when he began vomiting and his golden jelly poos had large amounts of frank blood in them. HE also dropped to 2.7 pounds the lightest he has ever been outside a small kit. He is on Amoxi and pepcid BID. He has shown improvment but he has also not been eating meat since he began vomiting as I put him back on his EVO red bites and Beef EVO soupie. The only meat he ate without protest was pork. I have not used Slippery Elm-but am aware of its properties, I may give it a shot after we are done with the pepcid here. What is the dosing for a 3 pound ferret.
My biggest concern for Garrison is uncontrolled IBD. I worry since my first ferret Tweek passed due to a GI based Lymphoma at 2 that was the result of undiagnosed IBD. I am even more paraniod because my 4th ferret Arte had severe EGE that led to his death over time. I do not want to let Garrison suffer too much damage to his GI increasing his likelyhood of cancer moreso. I am also concerned because Garrison's has not blown his winter coat yet (he is normally done by mid May). The areas where his guardhair is growing is VERY sparse. We have an appointment to address that in Mid July so. . . Twig has been slow in his transition, but steady. He does have nasty poos everyso often but nothing concerning. His favorite meat was the pork as well. He has not moved onto bones yet. He is eating straight canned EVO beef with EVO beef soupie. (Garrison will not eat the canned food unless it is heated and watered out).
I am not in a big rush and am willing to let them move at their own pace.
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Post by Heather on Jun 10, 2009 23:38:30 GMT -5
It sounds good. You know your furbabies...I'm not going to push. I will make suggestions in relation to what I learned from my furkids but you know your furkids. Go with what you're comfortable with. I hate IBD, every furbaby that I've had that has had it has succumbed eventually to some form of cancer. I presently have 3 furbabies with IBD, so I certainly understand your concerns and your need to protect your furbabies . I did find that rabbit, though lower on the nutritional scale, was easily digested by all my IBD furbabies. Little Mischief (my first IBD) fert...was worked on by a couple of homeopaths and naturalpaths when I put out a SOS for help with this little boy. I'd never dealt with this before and like you watched my little boy drop weight like crazy and have the really strange gelly type poopies. We used rabbit meat (this was a ground product that came with meat, bone and heart, liver and kidneys), slippery elm powder and an Ambertech product called parvaid and vibactra. I also added some raw egg to the ground rabbit. Mischief was 7 yrs old when he was turned into me (had ulcers at this time and was in kennel shock). He weighed all of 1lb 2 oz. You have to understand that he has to have been the tiniest ferret that I've ever had, he was smaller than any female. At his healthiest and fattest (and he did get fat ) he only weighed 1lbs 12 oz. Little Mischief eventually passed on after getting cancer of the spleen. His death was quick and in the furry arms of his bestest buddy, who lay with him and tried to keep him warm. He was 9 yrs old. I will check in tomorrow and see how you and your little ones are doing. ciao
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