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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 4, 2008 16:48:05 GMT -5
So De totally blew her coat today. I went and "plucked" her (used my fingers to remove loose fur). Her ENTIRE COAT came off. Now she is butt naked, but there is the small shadow of fur coming in. She should have her summer coat soon, I can see it coming in.
She hasnt been responding to the melatonin (we got her an implant in february), but due to the change in seasons her vulva swelling went down. She goes in tommorow morning at 10am for her Lupron shot.
She is slowly transitioning to raw. She has graduated from raw soupy to small chunks of beef cut into kibble sized pieces and then dusted with kibble dust (crushed kibble). Her muscle condition is pretty good for being adrenal. She doesnt show alot of muscle wasting. I'd like to keep it that wa.
She is active and happy, but I still worry about her. The sooner she switchs to raw the better.
It will be good to have her on Lupron again. She only had 1-2 shots before my ex and I broke up (and he took care of de for the last year) she went an entire year without any lupron or melatonin. She then got a melatonin implant in February? or was it march? but she didnt respond to it.
My new vet said we will give her 1 lupron shot per month (30 day shot), and if she doesnt respond we can give her two per month, but he doesnt want to do any more then that. Hopefully she'll show some response to the Lupron. The first time she got the shot it (over a year ago) it took her a while to show a response to it, but she eventually did. Fingers crossed that it will still work on her.
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Post by kuuipo61606 on Jun 4, 2008 22:06:07 GMT -5
bless her little heart! i bet she still looks fierce without fur though.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 5, 2008 16:37:58 GMT -5
De went to the vet today and got a 100 micro gram dose of 30 day lupron. We will wait a month, see how she does. Then its back to the vet for a checkup and probably another Lupron shot. She seems to be doing well. I have been reading up on lupron and it appears that the 500 micro gram dose (per month) is recommended. I'll have to talk to my vet about that. De is REALLY tiny (she barely weighs a pound) so perhaps this is why he gave her a lower dosage. Either way I plan to keep researching this until our next vet visit, next month. Oh! and the vet palpated her kidneys and said it felt as if the tumor was on her RIGHT adrenal gland. This adrenal gland sits near the largest vein in the body, the Vena Cava. It takes a very precise hand to perform surgery on a ferret to remove it. This (combined with De's weight, and sensitivity to anesthesia) is why we are not opting for surgery. She's also finally eating the raw beef chunks (they are currently cut into teeny-tiny "kibble sized" pieces) with gusto. It was a nerve wracking 3 days, but she's finally got it! I hope to remove the kibble dust from the chunks within the next week, and then I plan to slowly increase the size of the chunks. From there its on to bone and organ. I'm so excited (and so is my vet). De is 8 years old and FINALLY getting the nutrition that she needs! Raw diet, here we come!
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Post by meli on Jun 8, 2008 18:07:10 GMT -5
yay de!!
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Post by jojodancer on Jun 10, 2008 10:23:57 GMT -5
To somewhat answer your question about De's doseage, Morris received his second 200 microgram dose on Saturday. We will bring him back next month to see if the doseage can be brought back down, if it will stay the same, or be increased. I think that 500 micros is the max doseage.
I asked about why some ferrets are on the 6 month-on, and 6-month-off plan, and it depends on lots of factors. My vet doesn't want to overmedicate, and depnding on how Morris is doing, he'll decrease the doseage and maybe even take him off for a while. In a way, it has to do with seasonal cycles, as Morris may need less in the winter when the sun isn't around as much - but it depends on how much artifical light they get during that time, the room where they are kept in the house, what kind of house and neighborrhood we're in (lots of trees wiht shade, or new community w/o much shade)... So we go back for monthly check-ups and the lupron may vary.
After one month, Morris has lost his fur and guard hairs, as his new coat is growing in. It sort of feels like a dachsunds short hair at the moment. Giuli - take pictures of De every few days, because you won't remember what she looks like with her thinning coat, as the lupron takes effect. Its been a month here, and the results are noticeable.
As for De eating chunks of meat - YEA! good for her!
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 10, 2008 16:10:54 GMT -5
Thanks jojo. Well I THOUGHT she was eating the chunks, and she is, but only very tiny ones. Its more like she picks at her food. I am seeing a SLIGHT decrease in her weight, so I took her and put her in a seperate cage. We are back to square one and she is eating pureed raw chicken with a pinch of eggshell and a little liver mixed in. Just gotta take it slow with her. For all those newbies that are switching their ferrets right now, Im in the same boat as you.
Samson on the other hand is graduating to bigger and bigger chunks! Im so proud of him! I need to get pics of his NASTY teeth (for you guys and my vet) so you can see the difference that raw makes in them.
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Post by jojodancer on Jun 11, 2008 10:01:56 GMT -5
I think taking pics of Samson's teeth is a very good idea! We can see the progression, and it would be helpful on the website when it gets up and running. It'd be like going to the dentist and seeing the pics of people who don't take care of their teeth *eeeew*
As for De and not eating the chunks, welcome to the club. HA! you may be joining us commercially prepared food feeders, eh? Getting the wildlife whole hen is great (I know you keep forgetting about them) but it is a WHOLE chicken ground up (so feathers, cartilage, bones, meat, organs - all in the right percentages). As far as I know, it is the only provider that has WHOLE animals, as opposed to animal parts.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 11, 2008 15:45:21 GMT -5
I would buy the laying hen, Jojo, but its just so darn expensive. I am currently cutting up frozen mice and "pureeing" them into a smoothie for De to eat. Its going well so far.
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Post by amyandfuzzies6 on Jun 12, 2008 11:49:21 GMT -5
Hi, Giuli.
So glad to hear De is doing well. My 2 adrenals, Ozzy (~4.5 YO) & Kimba (~3.5 YO - but she started showing symptoms as early as 1-she's a chocolate roan mitt so we were looking for and expected the adrenal symptoms), are getting better. They've been on the melatonin (oral daily) probably about 2 years now. This past winter was a little rough but Kimmie's vulva is finally starting to shrink. Last month she had some drainage but between epsom salt soaks and daily cleaning, it has stopped. I did increase their dosage to about 1.75 mg 3 Xs daily and am not sure if I'll go back to once a day or not. In the WI melatonin study, they administered much larger doses without any negative effects and I don't know if there is even a lethal dose of melatonin? Hmm...
I know people have said the melatonin stops working after a year. I can't say how much is due to the natural diet, bu I can SEE that it is still working. Neither have gone completely bald - EVER. Kimmie's tail and rump get bald with scarce hair on her belly and Ozzy has bad coat changes but the new coat comes in thick and full.
Keep us posted on De and I'll do the same with Kimba & Ozzy.
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Post by amyandfuzzies6 on Jun 13, 2008 13:14:11 GMT -5
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