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Post by tommy on Jul 4, 2010 14:17:18 GMT -5
Latest toy to get Ferry interested, ping pong ball, has failed. Our feet are still more attractive.
I noticed some black specks on her skin near her neck. Like dirt but dry and stuck. Is this anything to be concerned about?
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Post by tommy on Jul 4, 2010 15:30:46 GMT -5
Here is a picture of the black bits. Attachments:
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Post by Heather on Jul 4, 2010 16:58:16 GMT -5
Looks like bug bites?? I'm guessing you've checked for fleas? ciao
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Post by tommy on Jul 5, 2010 11:27:53 GMT -5
I can't see any fleas but I'll check again. Her tray gets cleaned every day and the bathroom floor twice a day. But it might have been when she was living in the cage.
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Post by tommy on Jul 12, 2010 9:46:47 GMT -5
An update on Ferry. I thought I saw her stood on her back legs while walking yesterday. Just for a little bit. She has also overcome her fear of water. She doesn't love swimming but deals with it and I think it is helping her treatment tremendously.
She just got acquainted with Cheweasel and loves them. All she does though, is hide them! No chews!
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Post by Heather on Jul 12, 2010 13:21:57 GMT -5
That is so fantastic. You and your little Ferry are doing really great. The water exercises appear to be doing wonderful things for her strength. You taking her out for walks will be helping her too. Great job guys ciao
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Post by rarnold18 on Jul 12, 2010 16:03:49 GMT -5
Hooray for Ferry!!! Your doing an awesome job!
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Post by katt on Jul 16, 2010 18:42:13 GMT -5
It sounds like she is really improving! You are doing a fantastic job! Please keep us updated, I love checking in and reading about Ferry. She is so cute, and I am glad that you did not give up on her and I know that she will appreciate you and love you forever for it! How is she doing with her peeing issues?
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Post by tommy on Jul 23, 2010 7:02:07 GMT -5
She is mainly peeing on her own. Either by licking herself (which she may have learned from my constant rubbing with a moist toilet tissue, thanks to Jennifer's advice) or when she's running about. She never keeps still when she pees or poos, she just runs around the room to leave a trail!
She has also been quite aggressive to me when I mop up her mess. Also starting to hide her food instead of eating them. I think she is feeling slightly insecure about her environment?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jul 23, 2010 10:05:31 GMT -5
She seems to be exhibiting territorial behavior. The reason i say this is that she does not want her messes to be removed. One of my girls is very territorial. I can think of a couple of things that might be motivating this behavior..... 1. She may actually be feeling more comfortable in her environment. She may be simply establishing her territory and/or she may be afraid somebody may try to take her space away from her. 2. She may be trying to keep herself extra clean and having her mess around ma make her feel more secure. Since she is disabled, she may feel she's a target for predators. If the mess remains on the floor and if she remains very clean by walking as she potties, predators will have a more difficult time finding her. The mess will be a distraction. If she's really aggressive, about the cleaning, this may be the case 3. If you're cleaning up with harsh chemicals, the chemicals may be irritating to her. Regardless, the aggressive behavior is a strong attempt to communicate an important message. I suggest leaving a small amount of her mess in her litter pan. If the messes are located far from her sleeping area, you may want to locate the litter pan farther from her sleeping area. She has probably learned that the licking behavior works as self-stimulation to allow her to pee on her own (YAY!!! That's really awesome). The walking potty habit may help her potty by herelf since control of the bladder/bowels may be facilitated moveing adjacent muscles. Has she come back into season? Perhaps she's pre-estrus and trying to advertise herself s available. I wll ask omebreeders about "jill behavior" I'm so glad things are going well -jennifer
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Post by tommy on Jul 23, 2010 14:11:46 GMT -5
She is certainly very territorial and being very protective of her Cheweasel star, squeaky stick and the meat she hides.
I'll try to clean with water after using the floor wipes just in case it's the chemicals that is annoying her.
She doesn't have a litter pan at the moment because she thought it was for bathing and never used it as a litter pan.
I thought she might come back into season soon so have been checking her. So far, not yet. She has been rather moody at times though, and needs more of our attention than usual. She also seems to be eating less than usual but I still find lots of dropping so maybe it's my imagination.
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Post by Heather on Jul 23, 2010 22:24:41 GMT -5
Does she have a secret stash She may be coming into season again. I was just talking to my mentor (she's in the UK) and her girls are going into season again for the third time (the v-hobs are getting tired ) ciao
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Post by tommy on Jul 25, 2010 11:20:27 GMT -5
She hasn't gone back into season yet though she may very soon. Her favourite game (?) at the moment is to be made into a roll with a towel. She can't stop chirping! Especially good if she is fed fish oil at the same time.
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Post by novemberkris on Jul 25, 2010 11:27:58 GMT -5
Aw, sounds like she is actually really starting to call your place home! The towel game is always sucha big hit. It was the first thing my Paulster dooked about for a game.
Funny how they stake out territories, especially over toys and "preciouses". Paulie is not a biter, but he gets in a frustrated huff when I dig out certain stashed toys to play with him. The results in a snatch and restash of said "precious". Sometimes I think I should have named him Gollum as he grumbles away with his rattle or Baby Dragon.
I am so glad to see Ferry doing so well. I have been following the thread as a lurker from the beginning and it warms my heart each time you share new progress! She is going to show you her love and loyalty (in her own ferrety way) for the rest of her little life. Amazing work!
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Post by tommy on Jul 27, 2010 15:32:23 GMT -5
I think I've worked out the cause of her aggression/territorial behaviour. She checks for her meat stash when she is back in the bathroom or when I'm about. If they're missing, she attacks my toes, crazily! She can't be stopped! How do you resolve this hiding issue when you're feeding raw? I usually let her have the meat for 8 hours or so and clear them for a fresh batch. It doesn't seem to help matters that when old meat goes missing, new meat appears. Ferry just goes loopy!
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