xeopse
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Post by xeopse on Jan 11, 2011 17:00:08 GMT -5
I don't know how to explain what I'm concerned about. Lulabelle is changing colors, and it's not in the way that everyone else's is. Seemingly overnight, her white blaze has turned a bizarre brown and is now weird asymetrical blob where the downy fluffy winter fur she had has now turned into a very slicked back sleek fur. I'm not kidding, I went to pick her up last week and I was like like "HOLY CRAP! What happened?!" her change was that dramatic. I took pictures, there is no more than week between the times I took the pictures, and even then in the earlier ones she looks WAY different from previous pictures of her from barely even a month ago where she was mostly whiteish. She also has a weird tint to her. Sometimes it looks more yellow, sometimes more red, sometimes more brown. At first I thought she was jaundice and I freaked out, but her eyes, ears, and mouth are not this color... they are pale as usual (I've had a vet look at her, she was SUPER concerned about her pale mucous membrane color but then we saw her bright pink tongue and we decided maybe it's "just her" since she's always looked like that) but her tongue is still pink like normal. She behaves normally, eats like a pig like usual, drinks, poops.... Even her body fur is different, all I can explain it as is that she has a course fur going on throughout her fluffy winter coat - like guard hairs (sorry, I work mostly with dogs, I don't know what htey called in ferrets!) The pictures where she is in the purple blanket are from about a week ago. The ones where she is in the bathroom with her octopus and me holding her (some of them she is scruffed or held weird because she was getting fidgety) are from a few days ago. What is happening here? None of the others are doing this.
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xeopse
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw Feeder
Posts: 235
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Post by xeopse on Jan 11, 2011 17:07:56 GMT -5
For reference, this is what she looked like a few short months ago - she is the one all the way to the LEFT (the white one) And again: I don't know. It's almost like it's her skin that is that color. But what would cause that? A deficiency? Some sort of abnormality? How can I rule everything out? Does she looks jaundice to you??? I will try to take close up pictures later when I go home and do it in high-res to see it better I think. I am so paranoid =( I know they change color but I think this is her skin. She looks "dirty" if you know what I mean =/ I thnk she looks so unhealthy but then again I'm so used to working with cats and dogs that when they get this color it's because of liver or kidney failure. She is acting otherwise just fine. Should I separate her for a while? What shoul I look for?
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Post by Heather on Jan 11, 2011 17:11:02 GMT -5
Wow It looks almost like she's putting on her spring coat? and changing colour I"m hoping that someone else is going to give a spin on this. I've seen them change colours but not like this? The orange in her coat is seasonal oil, my late alters get it and they're a really deep colour this year. It will change in hew from day to day. ciao
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Post by maddiesmom on Jan 11, 2011 17:14:36 GMT -5
Wow... ditto, Heather. I've seen them change over time.... Izzy lost her black stripe with her shed, and Peyton lightened up a lot and turned more red, but that's pretty dramatic, and it looks really dark. How interesting!
Is she acting normal?
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xeopse
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw Feeder
Posts: 235
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Post by xeopse on Jan 11, 2011 17:17:59 GMT -5
Oh... oil. Well. That would make sense now. I feel soooo stupid, sorry! =( When you say "late alters" I'm assuming you mean that htey were spayed/neutered past when they were babies? These guys were spayed back in March, and they were born on October 19, 20, 21 sooo that would have made them six months old.
I met Diane at South Shore Ferret Care a couple weeks ago and when I b rought up how greasy all my ferrets get (after I told her I have never given them a bath) she said it's because they're just going through their first real winter. They just turned one year old in October and this is the first winter they've been outside of a controlled environment... they have never seen exposed to sunlight, temperature drops, or anything else seasonal b efore so they're all out of whack.
So should I be concerned or did I just freak out for no reason?
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xeopse
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw Feeder
Posts: 235
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Post by xeopse on Jan 11, 2011 17:19:39 GMT -5
Oh yeah, she acts normal. She does all her normal things, although that normally consists of lots of sleeping which is her usual deal. She REALLY loves her octopus and hidey hammock.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Jan 11, 2011 17:52:20 GMT -5
She's turning into a little badger! Well, I have seen drastic changes in ferrets but never like that. One of my ferrets made such a drastic appearance change that when I came home from vacation that I accused my parents of killing/losing my ferret and then buying a new one before I got home!! I think their first winter coat change is always the most dramatic. If I don't bathe my ferrets (once every 3 to 4 months) their oils turn their blankets orange-ish.
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Post by katt on Jan 11, 2011 18:18:44 GMT -5
The new color scheme is kind of cool I must say! I would guess she's just going through a seasonal coat change. I noticed when Koda changed coats this Winter his coat also got very rough for a little while. The yellow/orange coloration is probably from oils. I would personally just keep an eye on her and not worry too much unless she starts to show other signs of stress/illness and any behavioral or appetite changes.
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Post by Heather on Jan 12, 2011 0:31:26 GMT -5
If she has not changed except her coat (colour) I would just watch and see where things are going. I dont think, that you have anything to worry about. Kit coat changes can be drastic...I dont think I have ever seen them quite this drastic but....she is different both in colour and in her attitude. I was informed by a ferret breed judge that in North America because we alter at such a disgustingly early age (farm ferrets), 6 months is considered a late alter. In Europe a late alter is considered after 10 months. So your little girls are considered to be late alters and she will develop the oily coat at season. ciao
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Post by jesslough on Jan 12, 2011 1:29:09 GMT -5
Looks like she is changing! If she is just over a year, I would not be worried, it is just her natural colour changing.
The orange is NOT just late alters. My Rogue had it, and he was a Marshals. It is just excess oil.
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Post by katt on Jan 12, 2011 2:00:14 GMT -5
She looks like a marbled polecat!
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Post by sherrylynne on Jan 12, 2011 10:46:10 GMT -5
Interesting coat change! Wow, that IS dramatic!
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xeopse
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw Feeder
Posts: 235
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Post by xeopse on Jan 12, 2011 13:22:48 GMT -5
Well, here we go. I just took these LAST NIGHT. Lulabelle has crusty gunk on her eyelid so I took her into the bathroom with better lighting to help her get it out. I took it out, it's not a colored discharge or anything. I imagine that ferrets get crusties sometimes too just like we do and every other animal, right? I hope its not something I should be alarmed about. While I had her in there, I thoroughly checked her. She feels a little bony in the hip area but she looks fine. It's hard to tell what is normal and what isn't because I have three tiny little petite females that aren't bony at all but are half her size, then I have Persephone who has a big fat belly and is way bigger than Lulabelle - she is as big as a lot of the boys I saw at the ferret rescue the other week. She is her normal curious self when she's out without her sisters - she loves my knee-high boots of course and walks around sniffing everything. Still doesn't play with anything, but that's normal for her... she just moseys around and sniffs everything, and tries to crawl into blankets and towels. I had to scruff her to get her to sit still but these are the pictures I took while examining her. As you can see, the vaginal discharge is back. I have not seen this for months. I actually could take a decent picture of it, and you can tell she does not groom herself all that well down there although I do see her occasionally licking herself and trying to clean. I don't know how worried I should be about this. I am debating finding a really knowledgeable ferret vet about this but I think my resources are a little limited. I tried to call the Tufts Veterinary Hospital (the vet school here) but because we just got over a foot of snow dumped on us they are apparently closed for today except for emergencies. So I'll call back tomorrow and see if I can make an appointment with an exotics specialist. There are other vets in the area that will see ferrets... I just don't know how great they are with them Moving onward, here are the pictures of her coat as of right now: As you can see, she's seriously darkening up. Those dark patches she's developing on her shoulder blades and further down her back are actually a totally different kind of fur - it's slicked down and thin, not fluffy like the lighter fur. At first I was worried she's losing her fur... but... now I don't know. Do adrenal ferrets look like this before they go bald? She also had a little stool yesterday when I ran her up and down the hallway (she now RUNS full sprint down there whereas before she would just meander down very slowly... she now runs past me!) but it was orange-y and no, I didn't give her any pumpkin lately. It is mucousy stool, very sticky but not watery at all. And yes, she most definitely is turning into a badger, i said the same thing!! Also, since I'm going to bring her ot the vet anyways, what do I tell them about the girls being raw fed? I've been to TUfts before for an emergency with my dog and the vet students (who are only a little older than me) were very nice aobut the whole thing - they said that even though she had to stay overnight a few days, they would get her chicken from the cafeteria and have them cook it without any seasoning or anything, but that I couldn't bring in raw meat and they couldn't give her raw meat. So she ate pretty bland cooked chicken for a while, but whatever. The actual vet that I ended up talking to was insane - she kept yelling at me that it was salmonella (my dog ate rat poison that my new landlords had promised was nowhere within or outside the new house I just moved into.. well, so much for that) and that's why she had blood coming out both ends which is ridiculous. She even put "salmonella" on my vet papers and receipts making it so I couldn't go to my landlords and have them pay my vet bills (I was furious) when I found the EIGHT PACKAGES OF RAT POISON in the basement. Of the five or so other vet students, they ALL insisted she had been poisoned, and that's what they treated her for. But as soon as the vet found out what I fed her, that's what she blamed it on. I'd obviously like to not experience that again, so what do I do?
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xeopse
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw Feeder
Posts: 235
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Post by xeopse on Jan 12, 2011 13:25:05 GMT -5
Oh, and the vaginal discharge does NOT smell like anything and it's just yellow when I cleaned it up with a q-tip. It's not yeasty or foul at all. She also doesn't seem to be in any pain and ran full sprint just fine. If anything she is far more active than she used to be.
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Post by comadrejaloquita14 on Jan 12, 2011 13:54:09 GMT -5
It seems like everyones saying its a normal fur change, which would be my initial reaction too but i agree with everyone- SUPER drastic I have to say though, her new markings are lovely. She is gorgeous! and here I was thinking Kahlua's winter coat was a drastic change... lol Edit: About the vet, maybe try another one. Usually online you can find lists of them or try something like this: ferrethealth.org/vets/Again the discharge is something ive never dealt with sorry i cant be more helpful Oh and when you were talking about how its a different TYPE of fur, that happened to Kahlua too. (Funny cuz sometimes i call her Lulabelle when were playing) When I adopted her, she was in aweful condition, her previous owner pretty much let her starve. When I got her healthy, she had mostly dark, long hair (it was spring time.. she had long hair, my mom was like "maybe shes like part angora or something... which doesnt make sence cause shes a MF ferret) anyway she had long darker hair.. Now its winter and shes lightened up a lot, the hair around her shoulder blades is like u discribed, short and slicked back. Her entire body is kinda going that way (shorter and less fluffy than it used to be) I contribute that to it being winter ergo probably more oils in their fur. Also, she used to have a white bib, which is now yellow. (I think thats from her being on GF Zupreem, i heard it turns white fur yellow. We're not totally raw yet. I had them on MF and GFZ mix, trying to get them off MF- before I even got done I added in EVO. MF is almost totally out so their mostly GFZ and a good amount of EVO and of course their soupies, gravies etc to get them over to raw eventually- but yea im pretty sure GFZ is the culprit of the yellow-ness. I guess we'll see as far as that goes) But anyway, as far as the fur I really dont think you should be concerned. MAYBE the eye crusties, I don't know. I have never had a ferret with eye crusties. You say you work with dogs/cats - does it look like congunctivitis? I would also be concerned with the discarge, even though she isnt in pain and its oderless- I would still be worried. Kahlua before, Kahlua now, the second one was when she was just out of the bath. You can see the color change well but not so much the texture. In the pics of her but you can comare to the old pics, the lightness is running down her tail. In the last pic you can see more of the texture but because of the angle she looks darker since shes darkening more around her shoulders/neck area
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