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Post by luci on Apr 8, 2010 14:18:47 GMT -5
Yay poop! You could cut down the front side of the litter box so he doesn't have to climb. Soak the side in a sink of hot water and it'll be easier to cut.
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Post by katt on Apr 8, 2010 14:45:49 GMT -5
About how long does it take the fur to grow back? His belly skin is surprisingly soft! I expected it to be all rubbery or something! haha
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Post by katt on Apr 8, 2010 15:31:20 GMT -5
Yay poop! You could cut down the front side of the litter box so he doesn't have to climb. Soak the side in a sink of hot water and it'll be easier to cut. Hmmm I will have to get a new poop box for that, I want to keep his red ones in tact bc they match. haha I think I can get a plastic bin really cheap though. Would a cardboard box work in the meanwhile, or is that too bacteria catching? I know it will get wet, but for like a day or 2 would it be ok?
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Post by mjohn143 on Apr 8, 2010 16:07:10 GMT -5
I think a cardboard box would work well, just put puppy pads in it. They are the sheets of that are plastic on one side and like cottonish material on the other. I use them in my litterboxes bc my ferrets destroy any kind of litter I use and I can just pick them up and dump them every day.
I'm really sorry you had to deal with all that! And I totally give you credit for being a great ferret! No matter how safe and protective we try to be, they find trouble. You acted really quickly and spent A LOT of money to save him. There are many people that wouldn't do that. I think he is REALLY lucky to have you!
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Post by luci on Apr 8, 2010 16:12:13 GMT -5
Sure. If he'll recognize it as a potty, go for it. Have a couple of backups in case they get too soaked. I wonder if taping down some plastic wrap on the bottom would work? Just throwing some ideas out there. I cut down all my ferret boxes because little miss Fierra cannot be bothered to climb into a box to potty. She'll go right next to them instead.
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Post by sherrylynne on Apr 8, 2010 18:11:56 GMT -5
How about just some newspaper for a few days. That way, he won't have to climb at all. And that is a good set up. Best to keep him from climbing for a bit yet.
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Post by katt on Apr 8, 2010 20:48:24 GMT -5
I think a cardboard box would work well, just put puppy pads in it. They are the sheets of that are plastic on one side and like cottonish material on the other. I use them in my litterboxes bc my ferrets destroy any kind of litter I use and I can just pick them up and dump them every day. I'm really sorry you had to deal with all that! And I totally give you credit for being a great ferret! No matter how safe and protective we try to be, they find trouble. You acted really quickly and spent A LOT of money to save him. There are many people that wouldn't do that. I think he is REALLY lucky to have you! Thanks! And I read that newspaper shouldn't be used post surgery bc of the ink? Also, without some type of tray he will move the papers, and the blankets will get in the papers, which gets the blanket wet and germy if the papers are wet...
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Post by mustelidmusk on Apr 8, 2010 23:24:20 GMT -5
Cardborad boxes work fine if you tape dow several ayers of white paper towels. Honestly the bacteria is not all that super critical because of the way the icision is sort of "lumped up" and folded. I'm bettig your baby was given some atibiotics anyway. Ink from newspaper will be worse that some bacteria that Koda is already used to.
Here's somthig else to remember.....poop goes behined the ferret. Urine is what will get on the incision. Most people do not realize that fresh urine is sterile. I fact, it has been used for washing wounds in war. Of course, a bldader infection would affect the steriity, and some bacteria can be picked up around the urethera. But in general, pee is more likely to get on the incision than poop. An ainmal will lick the woud clean. There's a reason why carivores do not get cavities like people do - even kibble eaters (sugars) generally do not get cavities. this is because the enzymes in the saliva are very strrong and cleansing.
I short, everal layers of absobat paper toewls will work just fine. Kode is likely to eat puppy pads - eve my brats tear you and chew on the plastic. For tape - use plain old scitch tape . thicker tapes like masking or duct tape are likely to be shewed on because they are thicker and more spongey.
If the incisio looks red, dab some hydrgo peroxide on it twicwe a day. From what you described, it souds like the incision/sutures are very good. I don't think you'll have any problems.
-jennifer
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Post by katt on Apr 8, 2010 23:29:31 GMT -5
Woot Woot!!!! to Tax returns covering Koda's surgery!!!! YEAH!!!!
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Post by sherrylynne on Apr 9, 2010 9:45:21 GMT -5
I completely forgot about the ink- sorry Brain dead moment! But the box and paper towels sound good.
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Post by katt on Apr 9, 2010 13:31:03 GMT -5
Well I have to go to the Grocery store tonight after work and stock up on ore paper towels lol He is going through them quick and I ran out. My iguana needs more food anyways, as does Koda! I found a recipe for Duck Soup on here once but I haven't seen it in a while. Does anyone have a good recipe that I can make him that will give him a good variety of nutrients, but be easy on his belly? At the moment I have been blending up chicken meat, meat baby food, meat and veggie baby food (to get in some more vitamins and simulate the stomach contents of prey), and squash baby food along with lots of water, olive oil, and a little ferret vite. Should I add some calcium powder? I have pure calcium powder that I use for my ig (no phosphorus, no D3) that I could put in there. For cleaning, even if the suture wound looks pretty clean, should I maybe clean it once a day or every other day to be safe? Also - can he play in the tub and snorkel to get a little exercise and relieve boredom without playing on the dirty bathroom floor? Oh yes, and I keep forgetting to ask: the Amoxycillin is an antibiotic, obviously, but what is the Metacam for? I think she told me but I don't remember... lol
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Post by Heather on Apr 9, 2010 13:52:34 GMT -5
Metacam is for pain. What's the content of the tub that he gets to snorkel in? I wouldn't let him snorkel in anything for at least a week, maybe 2. Some others may be able to better tell you about this one. Water could cause the sutures to let go. Rice has a fine powder. Soil though slim still carries a bacteria load. Plain paper might be ok. Do you have those edible packing peanuts? They might be ok. Also depends on how actively he snorkels. I've got some furabies who really get into it. He should be kept quiet. I know that's difficult and boring. Can he be allowed to wander around and poke into things?? without eating anything You could add the calcium powder. I wouldn't worry that much about it. It's only a temporary fix. According to one of the vets on the ferrethealth list, you can feed only meat baby food for up to 6 months without having a serious effect on the ferret. If I'm feeding baby food, I usually use stock broth to thin it down (syringe feeding) and 2 tbsp of carnivore care for every half jar of baby food. Have you thought of making your own baby food? It's really simple, we discussed this for a little IBD fert who had a devil of a time keeping anything in his tummy. All you do is take a whole chicken carcass (just a small fryer), fill a soup pot with enough water to cook the chicken or use a slow cooker and leave it until the bones are soft (I cook for about 24 to 36 hrs). Remove the leg and thigh bones and throw everything else into a food processor with enough of the stock to make it however liquid your little one wants it. It covers everything you need, calcium, meat I even throw in the organs. You can continue to add pumpkin to this mix too. No it's not raw but it's a whole lot better than the baby food and better balanced too. Just a thought ciao
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Post by katt on Apr 9, 2010 14:31:50 GMT -5
I didn't even think of the water dissolving the stitches! :S I was hoping to let him snorkel in the bathtub for a few minutes a day. He doesn't get too into it - he is still learning to like it. lol I do have some starch peanuts in a box for him, but he eats EVERYTHING! He eats the peanuts more than he digs in them! He will run into the box, grab a peanut, and run to a hidey spot to eat it! lmao He will dig and play a little, but he still eats a lot and I'd hate to hurt his belly. I have been letting him out for a few minutes at a time every few hours between classes, but my room is not clean yet (Finals are coming and OChem is cumulative...over the entire YEAR - not just the semester) nor is the bathroom. Right now I have almost everything in my room pulled out of the nooks and crannies...and piled it the center of my room for sorting! haha So I can't really let him go far. He sleeps a lot when he is bored anyways, so that is good for him in that respect I guess. He just makes me soo sad laying at the cage doors with his nose at the door and the saddest look on his face. He does that at my bedroom door when I let him roam normally too. If you can't tell, he knows how to rip your heart out to get his way! As for the baby food, I have just been adding it to the chicken/oil/water/vitamin mush to add a little more substance and vitamin variety. Should I not be feeding him baby food squash then? I couldn't find canned pumpkin when I made my emergency run for squash and vaseline to Carrs at 1am Monday night/Tues morning, so I grabbed a can of baby food squash. I already had the meat and veggie baby food on hand because I wad starting to add a little bit here and there to his regular food to mimic the stomach contents of his prey. Last night and today he got just the meat baby food bc the chicken expired and I didn't have time to get to the store (I am going after work today, so he will get real meat mush again tonight). Is it ok to keep adding the baby food to the chicken mush, or should I JUST give him meat mush? He seems to be dealing with the raw soupy pretty well. No signs of being sick or in pain when pooping, lots of normal looking poops, etc. I have been adding less than 1/3 baby food. I put in about a whole piece of chicken (a boneless thigh piece, probably about the size of a breast tender times two or so) , a teaspoon to tablespoon of high quality olive oil, a good long squirt of Ferret Vite, a lot of water (to make sure he stays hydrated - he;s not much for drinking water out of his dish), and a fraction of a small jar of baby food. Probably a few tablespoons worth. Is that ok, or should I just cut the baby food period?
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Post by sherrylynne on Apr 9, 2010 17:31:56 GMT -5
Just an aside here, and I know it's good to add squash or pumpkin to help clean him out...but when mine eat anything larger than a junvenile mouse, they shake out the guts and leave them lying there. They won't touch them. So they get no veg from stomach contents.
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Post by katt on Apr 9, 2010 18:45:38 GMT -5
Huh, well they still get a little from the smaller critters. how much would they get in the wild, does anyone know? What about grass? I know often cats and dogs and other animals will eat grass to relieve bell aches (supposedly) and they have those little grass things that you can buy and grow for your cats (I think it is called pet grass or something). I always thought it would be fun for Koda (if nothing else, for smell, texture, etc) but I never knew if it was good for them or not. Or bad rather. lol
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