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Post by katt on Sept 23, 2010 1:46:19 GMT -5
If I have said it once I have said it a million times. This. Ferret. Is. Going. To. Kill. Me. So I am sitting here studying for my ASL test tomorrow and Koda is chewing on the stool. It has been his new chew toy. I inspected it really quickly and it didn't appear that he was doing damage - it is hard plastic - so I didn't get too concerned. Well, I heard a different sounding chewing (we have become very attuned to his smacking habits lol the sound of him licking himself sets us both into going "shhh...listen...is he chewing something?" haha Anyways, I looked down and he is eating something small! I panicked and ran for him - so he of course (How fun! Chase!) ran under his cage to continue eating whatever it was. I ran to the door and opened it (almost fail proof way to get him to come out of anywhere) and he came out, but the distance between him and the cage was less than him and the door, so he went back under before I could catch him - with said item still in mouth. I tried again and waited longer for him to get closer this time. I was freaking out at this point bc I can't get to him and he is obviously trying to swallow the yet unidentified object. He tried to run again but I smoosh his little butt into the ground (not too hard though of course lol) and catch him. I take the item out of his mouth (relieved to see that it is whole!) and realize what it is...unknown to me, the stool had rubber feet!!!! I never noticed! All of this time he had been chewing the rubber feet of the stool - not the plastic! Well Of course I freak out and notice that two are missing, one is in tact, and one pulls off easily (so would have been the next one eaten in other words as it was already well loosened up). I had one of the missing ones, but could NOT find the other. At this point I go into a panic and throw him in his cage and start moving things around and searching in the vicinity with a flashlight. Then I notice that on top of my snakes cage is a piece of rubber - a little round piece that Shane had found randomly the other day. We didn't know what it was so I went "wow I am glad you found that before Koda did " and stuck it out of reach in case it belonged to something. Well it dawned on me then what it was - the missing foot! *phew!* Well, as I being to put my room back in order I notice another thing - I had a small bag that I keep my jewelry in sitting next to the cage. It isn't easy for him to open and he leaves it alone. Well, I noticed that the rubber zipper pulls are gone! At least one was gone a long time ago, but I can't remember if the other one was already missing or not. I am just going to hope that it has been missing for a while! But seriously - I think Koda WANTS me to have a heart attack! To Lynxie - that is both sad and cute! lol I can just imagine it. Poor little thing. I hope that she had a smooth ending with little pain and I know she had a good life with you while she was there. I'd liek to have pet rats some day. They are illegal here though because it is a Port city.
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Post by mustelidmusk on Sept 23, 2010 9:12:01 GMT -5
Honestly, I would not be worried about ADV. GI issue are sooooo common in ferrets. Koda has no other symptoms. For the severity of Koda's poop problem, I'd expect some neurological issues as well.
ADV is NOT very common, and it's mostly prevalent back East. You still need to be careful with the potential for exposure to ADV. While I do understand your concern with the cage, it's my understanding that no cases of cases of ADV have ever been reported In Alaska. That does not mean that you can be careless about possibility of exposure. But if you think of all the ferrets that go through shelters, and shelters are not loaded with ADV, the chance of picking up ADV is very small in most areas. This problems is that if you DO pick it up, it sucks REALLY BAD.
BTW, I went through this same paranoia with an even BETTER reason to be paranoid. I was visiting a freind who had recently acquired 2 beautiful New Zealand ferts. I saw him a but a year later, and these 2 ferts both tested positive for ADV. Both ferts were fine, and none of his other ferts became ill. My ferrets never got it either. So, perhaps this was a false positive - or perhaps that antibodies were passed from a parent and/or the babies were not bothered by the virus, which apparently did not shed (enough?) to infect other ferrets.
Has your vet mentioned the possibility of ADV? I'd be surprised if she has. Again, I honestly would put that thought aside unless you start seeing persistent neurological signs for no reason. To ease your mind, you should talk to your vet about this.
-jennifer
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Post by katt on Sept 23, 2010 11:40:19 GMT -5
Honestly, I would not be worried about ADV. GI issue are sooooo common in ferrets. Koda has no other symptoms. For the severity of Koda's poop problem, I'd expect some neurological issues as well. ADV is NOT very common, and it's mostly prevalent back East. You still need to be careful with the potential for exposure to ADV. While I do understand your concern with the cage, it's my understanding that no cases of cases of ADV have ever been reported In Alaska. That does not mean that you can be careless about possibility of exposure. But if you think of all the ferrets that go through shelters, and shelters are not loaded with ADV, the chance of picking up ADV is very small in most areas. This problems is that if you DO pick it up, it sucks REALLY BAD. BTW, I went through this same paranoia with an even BETTER reason to be paranoid. I was visiting a freind who had recently acquired 2 beautiful New Zealand ferts. I saw him a but a year later, and these 2 ferts both tested positive for ADV. Both ferts were fine, and none of his other ferts became ill. My ferrets never got it either. So, perhaps this was a false positive - or perhaps that antibodies were passed from a parent and/or the babies were not bothered by the virus, which apparently did not shed (enough?) to infect other ferrets. Has your vet mentioned the possibility of ADV? I'd be surprised if she has. Again, I honestly would put that thought aside unless you start seeing persistent neurological signs for no reason. To ease your mind, you should talk to your vet about this. -jennifer I think we decided it most likely wasn't ADV a few days ago or so. My vet did not mention it, so I am not super concerned. That is really good to know about no cases of ADV being heard of in AK. There are many many benefits to being so isolated! Mixed the meds with yummy yummy ferretvite this morning and the first batch went over well. I still have the peptobismol which he hates. Maybe he will like it this morning... And antibiotics. Fun fun fun fun fun! This had better do the trick because I am running out of student loans!
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Post by mustelidmusk on Sept 23, 2010 18:59:21 GMT -5
That was just one off my many "brain poots" . I was probably navigating to the end of this thread and got distracted and responded to a post in the middle of the thread. I do really dumb things all the time Koda does like to torment you. I think he looks for ways to monopolize you for attention . More FERRET STEW!!!! -jennifer
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Post by katt on Sept 24, 2010 4:05:44 GMT -5
I forgot to ask the vet - how many days should it take of all of these meds to start seeing improvement? Also, they called back today about his fecal sample results. I was a little frustrated. I have a really difficult time hearing sometimes - esp over the phone (or low pitch sounds, and anything electronic, my ears just don;t make sense of them! haha I hear noise, but not words). anyways, after asking her to repeat herself like 3 times I gave up. she either said there were no "enterocytes" or no "parasites." Then I heard something about eggs, so I assume parasites? and an enterocyte is a cell in your small intestine and colon, so if he had no enterocytes it would be bad! haha But see, that is unless they meant he is not shedding an unusual amount of enterocytes, which would indicate (if he was shedding a lot) that his small intestine and colon are dying, or having the replace themselves faster than normal... If it was parasites, which I think it was, I am frustrated because we already checked for that! So basically I paid an extra $5 to be paid something I already knew...? I am trying not to think about it too much - or what I could have done with that $45 (food, gas, bills, less debt...lol). As a side (unrelated) note, I think one day when I have time (hahahaha time...what is that anyways?) I will make a thread about owning only ferrets and just write up all of my experiences and what I have learned (like how to SUPER ferret proof! lmao) and such to maybe help people who get only ferrets. Esp RC or PV trouble makers!
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Post by Heather on Sept 24, 2010 13:26:05 GMT -5
Oh, you have indeed had ferret life, trial by fire or at least trial by Koda . I would be terribly tempted to go down and physically talk to your vet about their findings, if there are indeed any. One of the things I find so distressing about treating ferrets is the number of diseases that are similar and the number of times I've had tests (expensive too) come back inconclusive. I remember trying to get results firmed up for Aremis. Four times we sent blood work in to the center to try and get some type of result so that we could treat him. The last time he was so stressed he vomited for 4 hours straight. I told them no more. Their poking and prodding was going to kill him (at that time I was dealing with a vet who wouldn't allow me to go into the surgery with my furkids, now I go everywhere with them and participate in surgeries and proceedures). We finally phoned the college, with all their knowledge they gave us their "best guess" and we went with that. Unfortunately, you can't get angry at the vets either. They honestly don't know. Many of the diseases are illusive until a pathology report comes in. Like that's worth anything I think it would be a great idea if you want to sticky a thread that describes all the things that you've done to keep Koda healthy and happy. It really is an entirely different matter to keep a solo ferret to even 2 or 3. ciao
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Post by katt on Sept 24, 2010 13:42:16 GMT -5
Haha And keeping a solo Koda is even more different! He never stops finding trouble... ever. He's lucky I love him so much, and have invested so much into him or he would be hanging out in a stew pot with some carrots and potatoes getting nice and tender... I might go talk to the vet later, but we are still waiting on the mouth swab to test for heliobacter by my understanding. I figure I can do it all at once then, and I work during their open hours until Monday anyways.
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Post by katt on Sept 29, 2010 4:49:13 GMT -5
This medicine thing is getting old fast. I have to get up an hour earlier to give him the one med that has to be given an hour before everything else so that I can give him the other meds before I leave for class/work for the day! THEN I have to be up late to give him the last dose. Not that I am not up late anyways, but lat er. Blahh....so his poops are pretty consistently solid which is good, but they are really seedy. I haven't taken a really good look at the color(s) yet though. lol I am a little worried about the amount of sugar he is getting. I have to mix a little ferretvite in with all but one of the meds to get him to eat it without hacking it up. 3 in particular, the amoxy he likes, the peptobismol he will suffer through. The other 3 are more difficult, and one of those three he will NOT swallow it if the syringe is not smothered in ferret vite - and even then he hacks some up. I ran out of ferretvite, and was going to get FerreTone instead, but they were out. I needed something to mix with the mes, so I got another thing of ferret vite, but I don't want it...I think he only has a few days left on the meds he hates (Um, Sat I think is the last day on those) so I will probably try to return it...? If they will let me. It is frustrating because like, I am feeding him raw partially to AVOID insulinoma, then I have to go and give him sugary stuff. I tried baby food and it worked a little (he didn't like it, but he didn't hack it) for most of the meds, but not for the "toxic" one. He will ONLY take that with a huge glop of ferretbite. Any suggestions? I mean there are only a few days left of all but the Amoxy (which goes until it is gone, but he likes that anyways) so I don't know if it is just better to just keep the same thing going... it is getting depressing doing this. I feel like he is beginning to not want to come out when I open the cage. And then he hates the meds so much and he just gives me that look. Because his poops are seedy too I can't even tell for sure if it is helping completely, and I do not want to have to bring him in again for more tests.
If this does not work, then what? What could that mean and where would I go from there?
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Post by rarnold18 on Sept 29, 2010 4:57:46 GMT -5
Can ferrets develop pancreatitus (sp?) and if so could this be what's afflicting Koda?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Sept 29, 2010 20:13:08 GMT -5
Pancreatitisis not very common in ferrets. I beleive (but am not sure I'm remembering correctly) that most cases of pancreatitis in ferrets result from moderately extensive pancreas surgery for insulinima, and the pancreatitis typically resolves over time. Katt, hang in there....you ARE making progress with Koda. (And he will forgive you for poisoning him! ) Remember, you go through the antibiotics, and see where you're at. Koda may improve after he's done with the antibiotics as his tummy tries to recover from the antibiotics. Hopefully he'll just recover and be "good to go". Hwever, do not be terribly surprised if he still has trouble from an inflammed system (IBD) If this has not worked, your vet may want to try a different antibiotic and/or or pred. You may be able to get this prescribed without having to bring Koda in for another visit. Regarding the sugar in the ferretvite - that won't be enough to give him insulinoma. ALl I can say is that Mary Poppins must have had ferrets -jennifer
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Post by novemberkris on Sept 29, 2010 21:31:10 GMT -5
I have been following this thread, very helpful. I hear you about solo ferrets (though Koda is another beast altogether).
But I had to say, can't the vets make rubber flavored medicine: just for Koda. (Why is it, though, of all the things ferrets will "eat", medicine is not one of them?)
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Post by katt on Sept 29, 2010 22:15:01 GMT -5
I have been following this thread, very helpful. I hear you about solo ferrets (though Koda is another beast altogether). But I had to say, can't the vets make rubber flavored medicine: just for Koda. (Why is it, though, of all the things ferrets will "eat", medicine is not one of them?) I wish that they could! That sure would make my life easier and his happier! So I noticed that the last 2-3 days his appetite has not been normal, he hardly ate anything yesterday or today...I mean he ate, but not his usual amount. Also, today his poop was part solid yuck (solid poop, but still yucky color/texture and look of blood present) and half....asparagus? I will load pics in a bit...
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Post by novemberkris on Sept 29, 2010 22:41:29 GMT -5
Ugh, this battle sounds familiar. These kinds of symptoms are when Paulie decided no more solid food (which made him easy to switch, but we didn't reach whole prey like I wanted to). Koda, get better!
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Post by katt on Sept 29, 2010 23:09:59 GMT -5
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Post by katt on Sept 29, 2010 23:11:12 GMT -5
Ugh, this battle sounds familiar. These kinds of symptoms are when Paulie decided no more solid food (which made him easy to switch, but we didn't reach whole prey like I wanted to). Koda, get better! Paulie has....I forget? I remember that he has a health issue, but I thought it was adrenal or insulinoma?
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