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Post by lferguson on Nov 20, 2010 19:37:51 GMT -5
Hey, I'm new to the site and have a question regarding my ferret. I have a 3-ish year old neutered male ferret who has been limping/walking with an unusual gait for the past 3 weeks. He has been to the vets and no obvious injuries can be found on exam or on his xrays. He was put on a pred for trauma and inflammation and there hasn't been a ton of improvement.
The other treatment he is getting is weekly acupuncture treatments. The vet I am using for this does not know too much about herbs that would be useful in his case. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with a situation like this and could perhaps recommend some?
Thank!!!
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Post by sherrylynne on Nov 20, 2010 20:43:29 GMT -5
I'm thinking before anyone could recommend any herbs, they'd have to know what's wrong! I gather he's had a blood glucose, etc? It's possible it's a simple strain of the muscle, in which case, it would be better off healing on it's own.
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Post by Heather on Nov 20, 2010 20:53:13 GMT -5
Any alternative meds/remedies should be done with extreme care with the use of pred. Pred is not forgiving and because it's a steroid is very unforgiving if dosed with an alternative remedy that may not be compatible with it. Most herbs have never been properly tested with ferrets. Ferrets are an odd mixture of dog/cat where herbal remedies are concerned. Perhaps, because of their odd metabolism and often inability to process toxins (similar to cats) dosing and prescribing is often difficult. Turmeric is often prescribed to relieve pain and it can be safely ingested by cats. Please remember that if you choose to use it, it does have the same properties as vit e and is known to have blood thinning properties. ciao
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Post by lferguson on Nov 20, 2010 21:31:35 GMT -5
I'm thinking before anyone could recommend any herbs, they'd have to know what's wrong! I gather he's had a blood glucose, etc? It's possible it's a simple strain of the muscle, in which case, it would be better off healing on it's own. We aren't sure what it is at this point. BG was normal and other than his unusual gait he is fine! He is happy, active (as much as we are allowing him to be) and otherwise healthy. As for it being a simple strain, I don't think it is. He does not seem to be painful on exam and, it's hard to describe, but the way he walks is not leading to a simple injury diagnosis.
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Post by lferguson on Nov 20, 2010 21:34:40 GMT -5
Any alternative meds/remedies should be done with extreme care with the use of pred. Pred is not forgiving and because it's a steroid is very unforgiving if dosed with an alternative remedy that may not be compatible with it. Most herbs have never been properly tested with ferrets. Ferrets are an odd mixture of dog/cat where herbal remedies are concerned. Perhaps, because of their odd metabolism and often inability to process toxins (similar to cats) dosing and prescribing is often difficult. Turmeric is often prescribed to relieve pain and it can be safely ingested by cats. Please remember that if you choose to use it, it does have the same properties as vit e and is known to have blood thinning properties. ciao Thank you for the information. We're planning on starting to wean him off of the pred in a couple of days. It doesn't seem to be helping and I'd rather not keep him on it!
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Post by sherrylynne on Nov 20, 2010 23:35:30 GMT -5
How long have you had him for, and is it possible he had some sort of injury prior to coming to live with you?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Nov 20, 2010 23:47:21 GMT -5
the cause of unusual gait can range from trauma/injury, neurological, or (possibly and) metabolic.
classic trauma injury usually results in pain/swelling/areas sensitve to touch or movement.metabolic issues cn result in weakness and/or tissue damage(inability to feed extremities).neurological symptoms can arise from brain tumors/damage to nerve tissue, etc. The point here is that there are quite a few potential causes, so treatment could make something worse without knowing what's wrong.
There are some safe supplements that will help nutritionally that may aid in any healing process.
Fish oils have a natural anti-inflammatory effect. They're good for general health and nutrition regardless of the nature of an illness. A little extra raw liver will will help with utilization of blood sugars and feeding the body's cells because it supports efficient utilization of insulin. a small bit (about a 1/4 inch cube extra daily) may help.
VERY GENTLE message of the limb and foot may help with circulatory issues.
oes his foot/toes curl under? Do the symptoms come and go? or are they the same all the time?
-jennifer
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Post by Heather on Nov 21, 2010 0:05:20 GMT -5
I had a boy that came to me at about 9 months of age. He has a peculiar rolling gait that vaguely resembled someone with a peg leg, hence his name Porthos the pirate . I did take him to the vet and upon examination there appeared to be no painful problem, so the vet concluded a congenital malformation of the hip, which affected how he walked. About a year later, when we found that xrays were necessary and we discovered a series of healed fractures. The unfortunate conclusion that we came to (he was an abuse case) the lady had flung him against a wall or the floor (he was a seriously aggressive biter) and had broken his hip and pelvis. This had to have happened when he was only a tiny kit as other than the limp when I got him he wasn't impeded at all and this had healed. She had told us when she had turned him in that he hadn't been out of his cage since he bit her and she couldn't see keeping him around. As he was more dead than alive and covered in fleas we assumed that he had been in the little hamster cage for most of his 9 months. Perhaps, this is the one thing that had allowed the leg to heal without medical intervention. Perhaps an injury, or strain has occured and though the injury itself is no longer present, perhaps muscle or tendon damage has occured. This injury might no longer be painful (hence the pred not appearing to work) but the diminished mobility is noticed. ciao
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Post by lferguson on Nov 21, 2010 1:00:16 GMT -5
How long have you had him for, and is it possible he had some sort of injury prior to coming to live with you? I had him almost 2 years now, all the symptoms started just over 3 weeks ago.
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Post by lferguson on Nov 21, 2010 1:03:54 GMT -5
the cause of unusual gait can range from trauma/injury, neurological, or (possibly and) metabolic. classic trauma injury usually results in pain/swelling/areas sensitve to touch or movement.metabolic issues cn result in weakness and/or tissue damage(inability to feed extremities).neurological symptoms can arise from brain tumors/damage to nerve tissue, etc. The point here is that there are quite a few potential causes, so treatment could make something worse without knowing what's wrong. There are some safe supplements that will help nutritionally that may aid in any healing process. Fish oils have a natural anti-inflammatory effect. They're good for general health and nutrition regardless of the nature of an illness. A little extra raw liver will will help with utilization of blood sugars and feeding the body's cells because it supports efficient utilization of insulin. a small bit (about a 1/4 inch cube extra daily) may help. VERY GENTLE message of the limb and foot may help with circulatory issues. oes his foot/toes curl under? Do the symptoms come and go? or are they the same all the time? -jennifer The symptoms do not come and go but they do worsen and lessen. Before we started the acupuncture he did occasionally "knuckle" and curl his foot on the right side under. Since the addition of acupuncture to his treatment plan I haven't seen any more of this. We have also added in a gentle massage. I know that limping is not a clear symptom of any one thing and that he could have a number of issues ranging from not too bad to very severe. Unfortunately, we have currently seen 3 vets for this issue and no real diagnosis has been given. I am trying to give him some more time before adding in an additional vet. Thank you for all the help everyone - it's greatly appreciated
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Post by luci on Nov 21, 2010 1:42:36 GMT -5
Do you have any video of him limping that you could share with us? Maybe that will ring a bell for someone.
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Post by lferguson on Nov 21, 2010 7:51:58 GMT -5
Do you have any video of him limping that you could share with us? Maybe that will ring a bell for someone. I will attempt to get one!!
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Post by lferguson on Nov 21, 2010 7:54:04 GMT -5
I had a boy that came to me at about 9 months of age. He has a peculiar rolling gait that vaguely resembled someone with a peg leg, hence his name Porthos the pirate . I did take him to the vet and upon examination there appeared to be no painful problem, so the vet concluded a congenital malformation of the hip, which affected how he walked. About a year later, when we found that xrays were necessary and we discovered a series of healed fractures. The unfortunate conclusion that we came to (he was an abuse case) the lady had flung him against a wall or the floor (he was a seriously aggressive biter) and had broken his hip and pelvis. This had to have happened when he was only a tiny kit as other than the limp when I got him he wasn't impeded at all and this had healed. She had told us when she had turned him in that he hadn't been out of his cage since he bit her and she couldn't see keeping him around. As he was more dead than alive and covered in fleas we assumed that he had been in the little hamster cage for most of his 9 months. Perhaps, this is the one thing that had allowed the leg to heal without medical intervention. Perhaps an injury, or strain has occured and though the injury itself is no longer present, perhaps muscle or tendon damage has occured. This injury might no longer be painful (hence the pred not appearing to work) but the diminished mobility is noticed. ciao It appeared very suddenly though. Thursday night he was dooking it up with the rest of the crew, friday morning he walked up the the playpen dividing the room, lied down and just watched me. Hopped over to say hi and as he walked to me I noticed it. I just don't feel it could have been an injury that we missed. Plus, there is nothing on the xrays. = (
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Post by Heather on Nov 21, 2010 11:00:03 GMT -5
Could he have fallen...off a bed? a ramp? ciao
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Post by mustelidmusk on Nov 21, 2010 13:22:47 GMT -5
What diet s you ferret been eating and how long has he been on it? How heavy/thin is your ferret?
These types of problems are so frustrating. Animals can be very stoic about pain. However, a vet can usually determine of there is any pain. I would think that a pinched nerve cause by trauma would show up as spinal pain, etc.
Knuckling is definitely a sign of weakness, but weakness ca have many causes. Usually, metabolic issues are accompanied by behavioral changes (lethargy, slowness) and/or unsteadiness/wobbly weakness or falling over.
Neurological issues are commonly more "stable", although healing is possible through development of different nerve paths. Neurological problems can be caused by trauma, tumor, , stroke, etc.)
Pred. tends to help with inflammatory issues and metabolic issues (stabilizes blood sugar.) ALthough, fluctuation in severity of issues suggests metabolic instability. (One blood test may not be enough to catch blood sugar issues - low or high)
I really think this will take some time to figure out, but watch for changes in activity levels, twitching, watch EVERYTHING
-jennifer
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