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Post by rarnold18 on Sept 30, 2010 0:37:25 GMT -5
sorry but being that we are looking at poo, I had to giggle at the asparagus discription!
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Post by katt on Sept 30, 2010 0:55:25 GMT -5
Haha That is what it reminds me of though!
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Post by katt on Sept 30, 2010 1:53:05 GMT -5
In case it gets lost on the last page...
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Post by katt on Sept 30, 2010 4:55:34 GMT -5
Oh yes, and he has been shivering more (it has been cold) but he is eating less...
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Post by mustelidmusk on Sept 30, 2010 9:27:16 GMT -5
OK - the eating less could be the meds. He' s still on them or just finished up , right? What had he eaten when he created this "masterpiece"? I'm on my crappy home monitor - need to get to work where I have a better monitor. (I know I'll get "busted" looking at poop at work - LOL!!! ) Thanks, -jennifer
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Post by novemberkris on Sept 30, 2010 12:34:24 GMT -5
Paulie was diagnosed with lymphoma (most likely case) almost a year ago. The new vet seems to think, though, that Paulie is the epitome of food allergy induced IBD and that his lymph node swelling is the result of an overactive immune system. His body's recent dislike of NV's Bison (when he could eat it fine before, now it causes liquid poo) really made this vet point the finger on that culprit.
That poo looks so familiar its not even funny (Paulie's pre-pred, and sometimes if he gets a tummy upset--always that way or greener with chicken). I understand poop can be seedy like that while a ferret with IBD is recovering from an episode, but mustelidmusk by far has the most signficant IBD experience.
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Post by katt on Sept 30, 2010 15:41:19 GMT -5
Well that is interesting because I did give him chicken...but he has had chicken before (ie before I took everything but turkey out of his diet for a few weeks, he had chicken regularly) and never had a green poop, esp one that looked like that! If you look at the very bottom right of the poop, there is an upside down crown shape that looks like a hard, shiny, translucent thing...what is that? His appetite seems to be ok this morning. And yes, he still has a few days left on meds...
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Post by sherrylynne on Sept 30, 2010 17:17:59 GMT -5
Is he back to getting bone in his diet? That's kind of what it reminds me of- a bit of undigested bone.
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Post by rarnold18 on Sept 30, 2010 17:32:50 GMT -5
It kinda looks like a frog foot...but then again your in AK...do you have frogs up there?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Oct 1, 2010 0:22:29 GMT -5
If it's hard, semi-transparent, I agree with Sherrylynne - probably a bit of bone There are a couple of feeding tips that tend to help most IBD brats... They do beter with the following: 1. ground food 2. higher fiber content (especially insoluble fiber) 3. food switches should be done very slowly (most IBD ferts do best on a getting the same food every day. But the problem is that some ferts develop allergies with exposure to the same thing over and over again. So... feeding becomes more complicated. You can rotate foods, but it needs to be done slowly for best results. I don't have enough brain cells left to describe this today. But I'll do so later on. Also, there are some ferrets that do well with supplements such as colostrum, transfer factors or hyper-immune egg, which may help to readjust the immune system. (I had some good success with transfer factors with my first set of brats) I gotta run since I jut got home from work about a half hour ago -jennifer
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Post by Heather on Oct 1, 2010 1:49:10 GMT -5
I was just discussing IBD with my mentor and she said to try and avoid all chicken if at all possible. Have you tried this by any chance. Ghenghis did ok on chicken but Mischief couldn't eat it at all despite having been switched on it. It's just a thought. ciao
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Post by mustelidmusk on Oct 1, 2010 8:49:57 GMT -5
One of the problems with IBD is that very little is understood about the disease. Most feel there are multiple causes, so shange in dietary composition: 1. does not always help and/or 2. helps, but other stimuli are triggering a flare-up
I recommend avoiding all poultry for a while.
In Most cases of IBD, the gut gets so inflamed that steroids are REQUIRED to quiesce the inflammatory process, which becomes self-perpetuating. Once the inflammation is under control, the dietary changes can then be effective - until something triggers another "attack".
Fall/shedding season is VERY stressful for some ferrets. Many male ferrets loose eight late summer -Fall. My IBD boy was very sensitive, and he would just go into a "tail-spin" in late summer/Fall. He would loose weight, get poop flare-ups, shed his little brains out, and we'd get him back into balance and he'd be pretty good until something upset his balance again.
-jennifer
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Post by 1 on Oct 1, 2010 10:29:24 GMT -5
Ok, if this tread has 7 pages I'm really worried now! I'm only posting hear to make this spot for reading and praying purposes, like me, ferrets only through up if its a eating accident, or theirs RELAY sick! Biggest difference, ferrets can die way easier when sick! marked! Koda, try to STAY alive darnet, we love you.
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Post by katt on Oct 1, 2010 16:47:42 GMT -5
Blah ok my brain is going to explode. I'm exhausted after a long week of tests (pretty sure I failed one...makes it hard when the questions are grammatically incorrect lmao) and medication. Still no full improvement with all of the meds. Poops are sold but off color and still a bit mucousy - though not as bad. The vet is out until Tuesday, but he finishes the Metranidazole on Sat. Antibiotics have several mroe days until they are gone, and the others I will continue giving (tummy coaters) until I talk to the vet. I don't think I can continue 6 times a day medication for the nest several years though, so I want to look at other options. The one med (carafate) has to be given 1 hour before the others (Peptobismol, and Famotidine after the others are done with) every 6-8 hours. Meaning I have to wake up an hour early to give him meds. I usually wake up right before class (45-5 min) and go. lol For his diet....several questions I know I will miss things: He is almost out of freezer stock, so I need to refresh. I don't really have much access to organs other than chicken so what should I do about that? Also, if I should avoid poultry, and he is potentially sensitive to beef, what on earth CAN he eat?!?! Should I buy only ground foods? Ground turkey, ground chicken, ground beef? And what about calcium? He needs it, and with his destructive chewing habits I absolutely do NOT want to take away his bones! I know we discussed fiber before, but I lost track of it... What fibers are good (other than frozen iceberg lettuce I remember that one) that are LOW in sugar? What supplements should I give him? Probiotics...multivitamins... colostrum, transfer factors or hyper-immune egg? I guess I need some help constructing a good plan...for as little $$$$ as possible. Also, update - the test came back and heliobacter was NEGATIVE! Now what?!?!
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Post by Heather on Oct 1, 2010 19:57:30 GMT -5
Don't panic...it sounds like IBD then. So, now you've got an approx idea as to what you're dealing with. Funky poops seem to be the norm with these furkids, so you just try to keep them as normal as possible. I certainly wouldn't change from chunked meats to ground...you want to change as little as possible but still try and find a trigger. Remove the poultry, if he's allergic to beef then don't feed. What about pork? lamb? He eats prey right? Can you get pumpkin? (I can't remember if you're one of the ones who can only get this seasonally) Stop all veggies except the pumpkin. Very shortly you will be finished the antibiotics, so there's one stressor that will be removed. Don't feed any supplements. Go back to basics. Meat, bone, organ meats. You probably won't get a normal stool until he's off the antibiotics. Neither Ghenghis, or Mischief had normal stools when on antibiotics. If the taste and content didn't throw them off, being forced to eat the medicine did....stress = loose stools Once you get back to basics, feed this way for a couple of weeks, then add a change. It can be a protein change, a supplement...just one thing though, nothing else. Then you wait and see what happens. IBD is frustrating because sometimes you get a reaction and it's not to food, or supplement....it's to an outside stressor. It becomes a trial and error and you learn that there is nothing that you do offers you a solid yes or no. Ghenghis used to be terrible, lovely formed stools first thing in the morning, but by nightfall, he had these horrible liquid green poops. If you weren't aware that he was pooping, you would think it was urine He would go for days and then something would trigger and away we would go again. Mischief's irritation usually resulted in black tarry stools and had to be treated each time. He would usually go for 3 months of really good stools and then we would slide and spend the next month getting him back on track. Mischief ate rabbit almost exclusively for close to 6 months because that was all that would sit on his tummy. We resorted to using supplements as rabbit isn't the best meat to use, but you make use of what will keep things working the best way possible. Just as quickly, he suddenly couldn't tolerate it any more. We can only offer suggestions, IBD treatment is what works for your little one, what worked for one probably won't work for another. Unfortunately, welcome to the world of ferrets ciao
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