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Post by mustelidmusk on Mar 28, 2009 18:17:17 GMT -5
I grew up in Florida, so I know about "fried electronics" I've been shoveling snow for two days here in Denver - my modem is fine, but my body is now fried - I ache all over Too funny - I just got a dehydrator too - but I haven't had time to use it! I'm tired of buying all those super expensive treats - my kids love the Whole Life Lamb $$$$$ I suspect I'll pass on dehydrating the organ meats since it will probably stink up the entire house (and I'd have to go stay in a hotel) Just remember that treats need to be fed in small amounts since they are not balanced. If you want to feed the dried meats as part of diet, you'll need to balance them in with organ meats and bones. Otherwise the dehydrated meats are fine. the tiny amunt of heat that's applied to the drying process is not enough to kill all the nutrients according to what I've read. SOme of the treats I've been feeding for quite some time now are dehydated meats. they actually help clean teeth, and large pieces than kibble size work like a hew toy. I'd feed no more than 5-10% healthy meat treats (unbalanced). I kept kibble around (mostly EVO and Core Wellness) for a couple of years. But it was a waste since my kids weren't eating it. Honestly, I think it was my security blanket! Hestia is obviously the little Princess! She has learned to get attention with her antics. She wants special treatment, and she knows she deserves it!!! Audra is a very pretty name! All your kids have great names! I think picking out names is such a difficult thing to do...I hate having to come up with names. I'm not very good at it either!!! -jennifer
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Post by bronwyn on Mar 30, 2009 16:50:52 GMT -5
Its been fun--I haven't been able to access internet because the router they gave me wouldn't pick up my laptop. The connection would come and go but always worked on my hubby's desktop. I refuse to use his computer--his office is terrible! I started making bigger chunks of dehydrated food--it became a toy! They would eat the small pieces but now the strips are a great game! I put one on the floor and they all saw it and played keep away for almost an hour! One of them will find it and re-hide it for someone else to find. Too funny. Hestia's queen bee attitude probably isn't helped by the fact that she is absolutely my favorite because of her antics. She never fails to surprise me with her intelligence. Yesterday she somehow got on top of their ferret nation cage. There isn't anything within reach of the cage for her to climb on and the nearest window ledge is over a foot away and over 4' off the ground. She was sleeping in the extra bedding when I found her. I always have a hard time naming my pets. I try to find a name that fits their personality. My poor dog was nameless for almost 3 weeks! Hestia means Mother or Guardian. Nereus means "in Water" Bronwyn means white beast (gets a bit crazy when fighting the cats) Audra means storm
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Post by bronwyn on Mar 30, 2009 16:56:47 GMT -5
Hey--I just saw how Hestia got on the cage. My cat scruffed her up, jumped to the window sill and jumped to the cage. They are both curled up together. Cat must have left before I found her on the cage the other day.
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Post by mustelidmusk on Apr 2, 2009 8:55:27 GMT -5
OMG!!! The at story is really interesting!!!! All 4 of my ferrets can climb my FN cages (3 levels high). Kachina loves to do this. Worse yet, she gets on top and jumps onto the hanging lamp in the room. I have a bunch of very stable storage bins stacked up really high so she can drop down into the bin (it's filled with soft fleece balnkets). The brats cclimb down on their own by wedging their bodies between the cage and the wall. Never under estimate a ferret. Your baby may be getting up there on her own. I love the freeze-dried foods because they do provide enrichment opportunity - the brats are always playing and hiding/re-hiding their food! Your kids would enjoy the foraging cups (see the thread under Enrichment - it's called somethng like "best non-boredom toy ever". My kids love the things! Sounds like all is going well with the feeding program -jennifer
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Post by bronwyn on Apr 2, 2009 13:52:05 GMT -5
I had some containers that I wanted to add tunnels to so they could be stacked for the ferrets to play in. I guess I'll have to put it next to their cage so she can get down again. I don't really know what else to do. None of mine climb the cage so I haven't had to worry about it yet. Fun stuff.
Everyone is eating raw ground foods now. I haven't had any problems for the past few weeks. Hestia, Nereus and Audra have put on a good amount of weight since they have been with us. Bronwyn hasn't really put on weight but she was proportionate when we got her. Two older guys were pretty skinny (I honestly didn't think they would be around very long when I first saw them) They look worlds better now!
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Post by mustelidmusk on Apr 3, 2009 19:49:26 GMT -5
The cage climbing was a serious pain-in-the-butt until I realized they can get down safely on their own. I was trying to find ways s to keep them from climbing when I saw them getting down by wedging themselves between the cage and the wall. Stacking something that can be easily climbed down will work as well. I'm really glad to hear you're happy with the results of your raw feeding program. My kids have been doing really well on the commercial raw for 4 years - and most ferret-knowledgeable people think they're about 2 years old based upon the way they look and act. It's truly amazing what diet can do for these little guys. -jennifer
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Post by bronwyn on Apr 7, 2009 18:28:24 GMT -5
I am hoping as they eat raw longer that Hestia and Nerues will get better coats. Their colors have changed a little. Nerues is still pretty yellow colored and they both have scratchy feeling hair. The other 2 are fluffy and soft.
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Post by mustelidmusk on Apr 9, 2009 9:02:57 GMT -5
For soft coats...the salmon oil works great. I give each ferreta a fewdrops of salmon oil daily. My SHaman has quite a bit of New Zealand bloodlnes, his coat is different from the other 3. He has thicker hairs, so they are less soft/fluffy feeling. But hs coat is shiny and healthy. For yellowing... - ferret color - albinos may tend to yellow due to the shape of their fur - possible adrenal issues - yellowing can be related to excesve adrenal activity Dry coats can be caused by a few things... - genetics -season - winter coats tend to be thicker and softer than summer coats - over-bathing - diet - malabsorption - - - birdseed poops/diarrhea - health issues/age (adrenal) Adrenal ferrets tend to have dry, thin skin (that's very itchy) and/or yellowing in some places such as around the neck. I know this is something nobody wants to hear, but adrenal disease does not have to have "classic symptoms" to be present. In fact, I just acurately dagnosed one of my ferets based upon behavior alone - sure enough, she's early stage adrenal. Try the salmon oil if you're not using it already. please let me know if you have any questions with digestion/absorption and/or any other potential health -related issues. -jennifer
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Post by bronwyn on Apr 9, 2009 16:21:29 GMT -5
I have brought him into the vet already and his blood work and tests were clear. I thought he may have been having adrenal problems when I brought him home because he was yellow and had no hair along the top of his spine. He has another check up in about a month to re-check everything since he was the worst off of the group. (he has made the most improvement though) All of his hair is back and it isn't as yellow as it used to be. Now its mostly around his front and back "thirds". He was eating a food from walmart when I got him and I think he as an over-reaction to corn. He ate a piece off corn the floor and had diarrhea for 4 days. I have pretty much decided against bathing the ferrets. They all got a bath when they were brought home but that was it. (I don't think they stink, I actually like the way they smell Nereus does play in water a lot so that may be it. I have been giving salmon oil once a week. I usually empty 1 caplet on a bowl of food for 2 ferrets. Is it better to give them a couple drops a day? I guess it would be better to know how much they are getting. I don't feed them any hair ball products--does the oil help with that? I haven't ever had a problem with it so I am not really sure. Could it also be their age? They are quite a few years older than my other 2 ladies. How does adrenal disease affect their life span? I assume good care/management helps but don't know much else.
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Post by mustelidmusk on Apr 12, 2009 23:58:00 GMT -5
Hi!
I've been super busy this week. I'll address your post tomorrow snce I'm exhauseted righ now and need to get some sleep! I will be taking my little girl to CSU vet hospital tomorrw - she's slightly adrenal. I'm hoping to gain some insight on melatoonin since one of the exotics vets did some melatonin reearch there. I'll probably be posting in the evening to answer your questions. But for a quick answer on adrenal disease, a ferret can live a fairly normal lifespn with adrenal issues. It is manageable in mot cases.
-jennifer
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Post by mustelidmusk on Apr 14, 2009 8:17:06 GMT -5
Hi! I'm glad the bloodwork results were good. You probably know that there's a special blood test for the adrenals, and it's performed at the University of Tennessee. Missing fur along the spine may or may not be a sighn of adrenal disease, even if it groes in on its own. I'm in a situation where one of my girls is very early with adrenal issues, and I'm trying to figure out how I want to handle this. I got a second opinion yesterday, but it was almost more confusing than it was helpful Yes, crummy food can cause yellow coats. Id give tour little guy one caplet of fish oil every other day. Watch to make ure he doesn't get the runs from it. It will take a while for the coat to soften. My ferrets' coats took abe a year to really get soft. Also, if you see bird seed poops, it indicat that absroption of nutrients is not optimal. Fats are one thing that can tend to NOT be absorbed as well. enzymes can help with this. Age can affect coat colora as well because the body may not be as efficient as it ages. Bathing helps as well. Bt keeping bedding really clean is equally important. I am not a good as I should be with getting beding washed every week. My albino girl is evenly yellowish right now, but its because I have not bathed her (she's 4 and has had 2 baths), and I don't get to the bedding as often as I should. (Too busy scrubbing poop, trimmingnails, cleaning ears, etc. I do not give hair ball remedy since I give the salmon oil. I give the salmon daily this time of the year, and I pluck my ferrets gently when they shed. Also change out the bedding more frequently during shedding season. About the adrenals - Ferrets can live long, full lifves with adrenal disease. I will post more on this later - there ae some good links out there, but I need to look for them and don't have time right now. -jennifer
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Post by bronwyn on Apr 15, 2009 15:38:36 GMT -5
Well, Nereus seems to have a little of all that. I don't bathe them unless they need it--He got one yesterday for diving into my kitchen trashcan. He came out covered in tomato sauce so now he has an orange tint in some spots. I found shampoo for white hair and his water was coming out orange yesterday and the 2nd try today. I have no idea how old he actually is but I do know he is at least 6. I wash their bedding every week. I just bought more fleece to make another set. (Have to make it easy on the hubby when I go out of town this weekend--he has all the animals for a month!) I shake it out and air it out everyday while they are running around. The litter tracks so easy-its gross since it only tracks when its wet. I use a wood pellet since I now have 4--there is a lot of liquid waste. I gave him fish oil today and he tried to steal the whole pill! I don't think he'll have a problem with eating it. I haven't had any of them really shed yet but they all had poor coats when I got them so their hair has doubled! Is it normal to have little shedding with that kind of situation? Or maybe they'll shed a little later since the weather is pretty even? The heat hasn't picked up here yet but its 70. (I think its crazy that people here consider that cold--thats my summer weather) I hope you get your baby with adrenal figured out--illness is never fun, especially one that isn't going to go away. Is this your first with adrenal? I never had any problems with the pair I owned when I was younger--they were pretty darn healthy, never even had the runs.
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Post by mustelidmusk on Apr 15, 2009 22:32:05 GMT -5
Thats hilarious about the tomato sauce...one of my girls makes a bee-line for the toilet - she loves to go spelunking!!! We have to keep thet toilet id down wen she'd out of the ferret room. If we ever forget o put the lids down, we can hear her jump in. By the time we turn the corner into the bathroom, we see a wet weasel ejecting herself from the toilet like a lanched cannon ball Regarding shedding...ferret shedding alway seems to be wierd, and it varies from year to year. Lighting and heat do affect shedding. I think the spay/neuter affects shedding as well. My current 4 ferrets have been known to shed slowly over time, and then they've done a final shed that is more of a true shed (a minor "coat blowing" with fur already coming in) as a finale. My first two frrets would blow their coats all at once, and they'd be naked in spots until the new fur comes in. So, it's difficult to define a "normal shed". I do get concerned when shedding is bilaterally symmetical on the rump/back with no fur starting to come in yet so the ferret remains bald for several weeks. That can be signs of adrenal issues. Here are some links on adrenal disease: www.ferretcentral.org/faq/med/adrenal.htmlwww.aemv.org/Documents/2006_AEMV_proceedings_10.pdfHere's my quick and dirty explanation on arenals.... Ferret sex hormones are driven by the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland sends signals to the body telling the gonads to produce sex hormones. After the hormones are produced, the gonads send a "message" back to the pituitary gland stating that the job has been completed. Once the gonads are removed, there's no feedback to the pituitary gland, so the pituitary gland continues to tell the body to produce sex hormones. The adrenal glands, which can produce small amounts of sex hormones, start responding to the pitutitary gland's signals. Since the feedback mechanism to the piuitary gland is broken, the adrenal glands continue to produce more and more hormones. The overprodution of hormones reults in adrenal disease symptoms, and the adrenal glands become diseased, and eventually cancerous. A ferret can have hair loss and other adrenal symptoms with very early pre-cancerous stages of adrenal disease. Ferrets can also have no hair loss and few symptoms with raging adrenal disease. Ther eis only 1 test for adrenal disease. Its a blood test performed twice a month at university of Tennessee. The test can yield false postives/negatives, but it's supposed to be 95% accurate. Ultrasound is not reliable , but is can be used to baseline the size/shape of the adrenal glands for retesting and comparison at a later date in time. Surgery to remove the affected gland is the only way to get rid of the cancer. Removeal of one gland may accelerate over-driving of the remaining gland. Ferrets can have both glands removed a may then require drugs to stabilize their systems. I had 2 boys that had both glands removed. They were on hormore replacement therapy and lupron for over 2.5 years. Neither died from the adrenal disease, although one of the boys went through some prostate problems until we started the lupron. I'm hoping my girl has pre-adrenal hyperplasia that mught be reversible (at least temporarily) with Lupron tratments and/or melatonin. I would like to avoid the surgery as long as possible (assuming my girl remains healthy enough for surgery when she's older.) Even though "cancer" sounds really scary, nearly all adrenal cancers are very slow growing, and only about 2% metasticize/spread. In short, adrenal disease is fairly manageable in most cases, although long term management can get expensive. -jennifer
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