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Post by tink80 on Oct 12, 2008 18:08:14 GMT -5
thanx, he is progressing and i've gotten him to stop vomiting, start pooping, and eat on his own again..and he is playing. his vet wasn't available this weekend and the ER doesn't know ferrets so i was only going to bring him there if he started going downhill but he steadily improved friday night, even better yesterday , and all signs say good today (but still very paranoid).
still going to call our regular ferret vet tomorrow and see about a barium xray or ultrasound in case any is left. (he ate silicone!)
been sleeping on the floor observing him and checking poops and making sure he is eating regularly since friday night...exhausted! not letting him out of my sight.
knowing you lost a baby from this same thing is very sad.. sorry to hear that.
trying my best to make sure baby bear will be okay.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 13, 2008 13:25:40 GMT -5
Please keep us posted on Baby Bear, he will be in my thoughts  |
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Post by tink80 on Oct 14, 2008 20:47:50 GMT -5
just wanted to let you know he is much better now though i'm still watching him like a hawk for anything out of the ordinary. found a stash of the culprit material under an ancient, heavy television today..will have to have my boyfriend move it for me before i even think about letting him play in the living room again. still paranoid but didn't want to cause anyone worry as he appears to be his normal self again..i on the other hand am still keeping an eye out. baby bear says thanx for your thoughts. :-)
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 14, 2008 21:33:57 GMT -5
I am happy to hear he is feeling better. I lost my boy (who was a dew like baby bear) so when you said he had a blockage I felt sick. I know all to well how scary it can be.
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Post by tink80 on Oct 16, 2008 17:01:18 GMT -5
yes i was looking at the pic in your signature after you told me that. makes it hit home even more. i can't imagine what it must have been like.
non ferret people think i am insanely paranoid but this is the reason why i'm so anal. they can go downhill so fast.
he is playing harder than ever, not sure if that is weather related or if he had a partial for awhile without me knowing it.
adding a bit of pumpkin to his daily soups..hope that is okay, i saw your post on the non petrolatum remedy but simply out of money this month because i paid all the bills.
i know it can be dangerous if they still have the blockage but since it seems like it has passed doing it as more of a preventative for now.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 16, 2008 17:43:52 GMT -5
FYI a natural, (nutritious) way to reduce hairballs is to feed your ferrets raw egg yolk 2-3 times per week during shedding season (you may feed raw egg white with ONE of those yolks, but dont feed raw white more then 1x per week).
Here is an excerpt from "Whole Health For Happy Cats" by Sandy Arora:
"Hairballs are indigestable protein made up of 15 to 30 percent fat. Enzymes can't penetrate the coating around hairballs to have much effect on them. Most over-the-counter hairball products grease the intestinal tract, but do little else. Lecithin works as an emuslifier, fighting the fat in the hairballs with fat to break them up. If your cat has a hairball problem, add a small amount of fiber (such as canned, raw pumpkin) (along with fat) to his diet and lecithin from egg yolks, not from soy. Fiber and lecithin also work well to prevent hairballs from forming."
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Post by tink80 on Oct 16, 2008 20:15:10 GMT -5
that sounds like a good option, i just was reminded about the sugar in pumpkin and i don't want sugar!
will try yolks tomorrow...i wonder how they'll react...might add some tone if they are being picky...
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 16, 2008 20:17:15 GMT -5
I'm not a big fan of the sugar in pumpkin. What is REALLY weird is that when you feed your ferret whole prey (like mice) the fur on the mouse helps to prevent hairballs in the ferret from the ferret's own fur. Weird huh?
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Post by tink80 on Oct 16, 2008 20:43:43 GMT -5
that is really bizarre! but i have heard that fur is beneficial..just a strange thought..LOL.
okay so i got curious and just did an egg yolk..(you did mean raw, right?)...
well monkey ate about a third of it and baby bear (the one who needs it!) just a few licks but i think he was kind of sleepy too..will try again later (can you refrigerate an egg yolk??)..at least he didn't run away in repulsion..LOL. he's also a baby and more open to things if i give it to him through a syringe first..he's funny that way.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 16, 2008 20:45:27 GMT -5
Yes, a raw egg yolk. I'm sure you can refridgerate the yolk, but once its out of the shell I honestly cant say how long it will be good for.
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Post by tink80 on Oct 16, 2008 21:21:31 GMT -5
maybe i'll just try to give it to my cats if they haven't eaten it by tonight or tomorrow morning...prob do them some good as well..
(and just so you know i am planning on adding at least some raw to soup again..think i might wait a week or so though)
:-)
also, what is your opinion on freeze dried treats? (as in pogos freeze dried mice and such)
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 17, 2008 15:08:36 GMT -5
I think freeze dried treats a nice, healthy treat. A pogos freezedried mouse isnt going to be as healthy as a fresh mouse, but its a wonderful treat that is alot better then any other ferret treat on the market. One can even use freeze dried treats and foods to wean a ferret onto raw. We have a member that switched his ferrets from kibble to freeze dried raw food (not freeze dried treats) and then he gradually moistened the freezedried food (reconstituted it). Eventually he tried his ferrets on small chunks of fresh raw meat, mixed in with the freezedried and they took to it! I like freezedried pogos, I also like freeze dried liver and other meats. |
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Post by tink80 on Oct 18, 2008 21:40:55 GMT -5
sounds good.
tried egg yolk today except i watered it down a little so it was thinner..monkey took to it right away , baby bear walked away and i got it in the syringe and then of course he couldn't get enough of it...i think he just wants to be a baby and get syringe fed..seems to trust it more then "the menacing plate of doom"...he's so silly but if it gets him to try new things then i might use the syringe to suck up some raw soup next time and see what he does. i don't have to always use it but it seems like whenever it's the first time for anything new the syringe is some kind of security blanket :-) i've literally had to go from syringe, to spoon, move spoon lower and lower to plate, then finally he'd just eat off the plate. he is so weird..LOL!
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 18, 2008 22:24:32 GMT -5
You aren't alone  Alot of ferrets require the syringe to spoon to lower to plate.  Little weirdos! |
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Post by tink80 on Oct 30, 2008 18:30:58 GMT -5
hi again!
question.
i have an abundance of raw ground beef. monkey took to it so quickly last time (before he started hacking and passing a hairball after one bite, unrelated i know) i would like to try it again.
if i blended it up nice and smooth (they like things watery) would that be an okay idea?
i'm only worried about doing the raw chicken at this moment because i've finally got them to eat their cooked soup again regularly and with the old gusto they used to have (when i added raw last time as with any other thing new they don't trust me anymore and stop eating soup which sucks!)...which is why i was thinking about trying supplemental at this moment with my oversupply of beef...
whatcha think?
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