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Post by Heather on Mar 16, 2009 13:26:24 GMT -5
Chicken backs are good. My guys won't eat them (they like to stash them ) but they do grind up nicely, then they get eaten. There seems to also be just the right amount of fat for the guys too. They do make an awesome grind for pork or turkey (both meats have a tendency to be really lean). Spring has sprung at least according to the ferts At least the ferts have sprung. My guys were just wound up crazy. I let them burn up their energy on a good hunt. I needed to cull the one crate of mice so they spent most of the morning hunting. Captain Jack tried to hunt his mice today (he now eats his mice)...he got bit, so he really wanted to....but how do you kill a mouse by rolling it maybe by accident He won't bite anything. His people trained him never to bite. He's just learning how now to bite and wrestle with the other guys. I've never had a ferret with such bite inhibition. Calypso wanted no part of it. I don't think she's eating prey yet. I'm just happy that she's eating at all. I'm hoping that it's going to be sunny and warm tomorrow. I'm going to open up the fert run and let them all go out and play. Talk at you later. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Mar 19, 2009 18:57:05 GMT -5
Sorry I'm back! It's been a crazy week.. We found a house that we like and seriously considered putting in an offer. Then we got an email from our agent saying that she's going on vacation for 2 weeks starting... NOW! ???Ummm... a little more notice would be nice??? So we're trying to pull a deal together over the internet... long story short. Nope... no house yet. Just a whole lot of aggrevation. The kids in the mean time are actually doing great! Now we really start to notice them shedding their winter weight. Except Gadget who really likes his dinners. We're kinda worried that he's getting too chubby! We haven't seen him eating the emergency kibbles in the cage so at least he's just getting fat on raw. We're naive enough to try portion control on him, only to later find him chowing down at the cats' bowl, pissing off the kitties! Maybe he'll realize soon that it's actually spring and he cant stop hoarding food now So glad to hear Captain Jack is giving hunting another go. His methods certainly need some adjustment What a gentle little guy! How's Aremis doing? Hope he gets a chance to go out to the fert run and take a nap in the nice spring weather! Talk to you soon!
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Post by Heather on Mar 20, 2009 0:17:33 GMT -5
Your realestate agent has unforgiveable timing That's just not fair. So did you loose the house? or have you just not been able to connect with the other party? The market is getting to be more favourable for the buyer, good luck. Gadget sounds like my Napoleon, who though he's put on his summer coat has not decided to drop off his winter flub. The little rotter Attila's shadow isn't getting very much lighter either I think some ferts take spring and summer a little more seriously than others. Mr Squiggly, Mad Max and Odin believe in taking their seasons very seriously. Attila, Loki and Napoleon are a little more serious about their eating habits Unfortunately, Aremis isn't strong enough to get to the fertrun this time. He does amaze me in that he manages to get from one end of the house to the other even though he can no longer stand on his own (he hasn't the strength to stand but drags his bum everywhere, occasionaly he surprises even himself and his bum holds up and he will run for a little bit and then collapse exhausted). If he wasn't showing such spunk I would seriously consider a trip to the vets. He's no longer digesting even the carnivore care, even though he did eat a couple of pinkies this morning. He's syringe fed now and really has no interest in food Here's a pic of Aremis with Mr Squiggly. As you can see Aremis' eyes are bright and if you look at him, he doesn't look near as ill as he is. It's when you go to pick him up or if you see him move that you realize that he's really ill. I hope that your househunting is successful and you can finally feel more relaxed and can enjoy the start of the spring season. I will check in with you tomorrow and I wish you luck in your househunting ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Mar 24, 2009 21:07:27 GMT -5
Well, the good news is the house we wanted is still on the market without offer. The bad news is our agent is still on vacation and she's planning on sending her rookie minion to walk us through our first home inspection... not sure we like that. Plus, I'm stuck in jury duty this week. So far it'd not been fun. It's like getting stuck in the airport waiting room for 8 hours a day with nothing to do and nowhere to go.... just a big smelly room with 200 other bored people.... Can't wait to actually get in court and see some action! That's a lovely picture of Aremis... he looks just as bright as he was in the picture in your signature. The little guy still has so much life in his eyes. Let's hope his body doesn't fail him too soon. Merry had been taking smaller meals in the last few days. And he has this occassional hacking that sounds like a cross between a sneeze and a cough.. Do ferrets get hay fever? I mean, I'd been sneezing my face off in the morning for the past few days myself The boys had been doing well with the pork. We picked up some more ground pork and extra chicken offals this weekend. Thought we're being clever getting a thing of pork backbone to stand in for chicken backs... then we realized that it doesn't fit throug the chute on the meat grinder! Poley is on his "down" days again now he's going into the 3rd week since his last Lupron shot. I won't go into my rant about what a crappy solution Lupron is You'd heard it too many times already! haven't heard back from our vet yet but from chatting with the receptionist, someone'd been working on getting the implant from te manufacturer in Australia... I'm going to bug the vet again tomorrow. After all, I don't have better things to do in the jury waiting room. All I have is my cell phone.... Hugs and kisses for everybody! And go Captain Jack! Hunt your dinner!
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Post by Heather on Mar 25, 2009 1:51:43 GMT -5
I so hope that you're going to finally get your house. I'm sooo sorry that you've found yourself on jury duty. I hope at least that if you find yourself having to sit duty that you at least have an interesting, but not long lived case to amuse yourself. You might want to pm Giuli to find out about her little furbaby. It seems that the deslorin is no longer working and they've had to go back to the lupron. I don't know all the particulars but she mentioned it in one of the threads, when she mentioned that she was taking her little ones to the vets. You might be able to take a hammer to the pork spine and pound it into submission so that it will fit into the chute. I've done this with turkey parts. It's a great way to take out frustrations You may want to give Merry some pumpkin. It could be allergies but it also could be hairballs. I worry at this time of year with all the hair they consume, due to shedding. I always keep ferretlax on hand just in case. I think that you would probably get by with some pumpkin, perhaps offering it once a week or maybe offering it for a couple of days in a row to see if the coughing/sneezing disappears. Let me know if this works for Merry. Aremis passed away on Friday. The sun rose and shone on the morning but Aremis was already getting ready for his last journey. When I went to get the guys up that morning, I found Aremis in a coma. He woke only for a few minutes when we moved him to the car to take him to the vet's. He passed away a few minutes later in my son's arms. We took him to the vets anyway where the vet confirmed that Aremis was gone. Aremis will be buried with his best friend Athos in the ferret garden as soon as the frost moves out of the ground. I wish you luck, may you get your house (you certainly deserve it ), and that your jury duty doesn't last too long or is too boring. Give your furbabies a great big hug, and Mr Poley an extra snuggle and hug from me. Talk at you later. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Mar 26, 2009 10:11:55 GMT -5
Oh Heather I'm so sorry Aremis passed away. Though I'd never met him it feels like I know the little guy. It's comforting to know that he passed on loved and surrounded by his family. How are your human kids holding up? I know it's probably not the first time they lose a fuzzy brother... I'm released from jury duty without seeing ANY action! Never even seen the inside of a courtroom (and maybe I should keep it that way! ) I guess at least I got to catch up on some pleasure reading Question: Is is okay to give Merry ferretlax, with his insulinoma? Not that he's a big fan of it anyway - He's about the only ferret I'd seen turning his nose up to sweet sweet ferretlax But that's a good point about hairball... it does sound like he might be gagging up something. I'll put extra pumpkin in his chicken and see if that helps. This little guy is doing so much better in the last few weeks. He's feeling more solid and muscular these days and he's bouncing off the walls! Huge contrast to a few weeks ago when he's still struggling to put on weight. the last thing we need is for him to get a blockage and end up back at the vet's. Just got off the phone with our vet... Deslorelin implant is on its way!!!!! Our emergency drug release gone through and it's being shipped from Australia! Now the question is when it's going to get here. Poor Mr. Poley is not having so much fun these days now that the Lupron's worn off but there doesn't seem to be much point to give him more Lupron now. He's super itcy these days, both from the fur growth on his butt and belly, and the dry dermatitis on his poor neck. We're greasing him up these days - hydrocortisone for the dermatitis and Aveeno for his dry skin. Whatever little fur is left on his head is getting greasy. We might give him a bath... ready for his long awaited implant!!! Speaking of which, thanks for letting me know about Giuli's little De. It really sucks that the Deslorelin stopped working. I PM'ed Giuli just before. Hopefully she'll see some good results with combining the implant with Lupron. Love and hugs for you, your human and fur babies. We'll all miss Aremis.
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Post by Heather on Mar 27, 2009 0:24:18 GMT -5
Nicholas has been through a number of passings. He usually takes it quite well. He finds it difficult, and particularly difficult when it comes to some of his favourites. Mayhem's death hit him particularly hard He maintains that Loki was sent because he is Mayhem's dopleganger, and besides looks there are some very big similarities in their attitudes on life:D I wouldn't think that the little amount that you have to give Merry that it should affect his insulinoma, I would double check with the vet though just to make sure. There's no way I would like to upset the applecart, especially now that he's starting to put on weight and feel better. Try the pumpkin...if it works then you don't have to worry but it might be worth enquiring to find out for later more dire emergencies. Yay....weasel war dance.....hold in there Mr Poley...help is on the way. I so hope this works for your little fellow. You will have to keep me updated on how this works, I'm really interested. Would a warm oatmeal bath help Mr Poley's itchies? Does he mind soaking in a hot tub. I've got a couple of the guys who will just sit in a hot tub, especially if it's offering respite from itchies. I will check in with you later and see how things are going. How did the pork bones go or did you not use them? Talk at you later. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Mar 29, 2009 10:42:49 GMT -5
Those are awesome picts of child and fert. You know from these moments that ferrets do know and love their humans. The Poley bear is not having a good time these days. We're watching him this whole weekend and he's definitely doing worse. He's not taking any his cream and chicken. All he wanted was EVO and T/D. He did try to lick a bit of cream off my finger but it made him gag... I think he might be nauseous. I know cream is kinda gross when one's feeling queasy... I'll have to call the vet tomorrow and ses if there's an ETA on the deslorelin. If it doesn't get here for another 3 weeks, Poley should get another shot of Lupron... I stuck the pork bones in the deep freeze when I realize that they won't fit the meat grinder.... But I shall take the hammer to it and see if we can beat it into submission. should be pretty easy once it's frozen... Merry's hacking stopped with some extra pumpkin. His poops are nice and solid and I didn't see much fur (sorry for being graphic) when I mushed it up in a paper towel. Gadget on the other hand just started joining in on the hacking. Usually just after he wakes up. He's getting ferretlax twice a day, just to be safe. I'll have to keep an eye on his poopies too... there's some greenies in the litter box today and I'm not sure who did that. We went to an open house yesterday and saw the perfect house.... then we found out it's the perfect house for 2 other couples as well!! So we're in a bidding war for a house!!! In this economy!!! Unfortunately, we lost. I was really bummed out last night. We'd been looking for over 4 months and "the one" didn't come along often. Alas tis life....the search continues. It's rainy and yucky in T.O. Think I'll stay home and hang out with the kids. Talk to you soon!
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Post by Heather on Mar 29, 2009 22:47:17 GMT -5
I"m going to light a healing candle for Mr Poley. You hang in the Mr Poley we're rooting for you. Will he eat his chicken without the cream? Aremis, couldn't handle the cream as his disease progressed. Not the same thing I know but perhaps your diagnosis of nausea is indeed correct. Will he eat his chicken with baby food? I found that this was one thing that Aremis would eat and it seemed to sit not too badly. Unfortunately, in the end it was baby food and carnivore care that he was living on. He did continue to eat prey right until the day he died, though it was only pinkies. What are your guys eating now? Sounds like your hacking boys are indeed having some hairball problems. Either ferret lax or the pumpkin will work and as you aren't feeding the ferret lax all the time (remember when they're eating kibbles they eat that stuff about once a week) either or should work. Just remember that ferretlax coats the bowels and doen't allow for good absorbtion of nutrients. I'm so sorry that you weren't able to get your house again Is housing still as tight as it was ....here there's houses everywhere for sale. The prices haven't dropped badly but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before prices start to reflect the number of houses on the market. I wonder if there's a candle for house hunting Good luck, I really hope that you find your dream home. I will check in to see how everyone is doing tomorrow. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Mar 30, 2009 20:13:38 GMT -5
There's no ETA on the deslorelin and Poley is doing worse by the day. He even gave up on EVO yesterday. All he took from us last night was 5 T/D kibbles, which basically are just huge hunks of corn pulp and "chicken byproduct meal". He wasn't even holding his head up when we put him on the ground for play time... I just couldn't make him wait any longer. OUr vet agrees and gave Poley another 300 mcg of Lupron. Hopefully the implant will get here before the Lupron wears off again.
The rest of the business are doing well. They seem to be enjoying the new pork and chicken flavour frankenprey. Still haven't got a chance to do the pork bone smashing. I'll skip the cream tonight and hope the warm, loose soupy will agrees with Poley a little more. Gadget's hacking seemed to be just an isolated thing. But I'm giving them extra pumpkin all around just to be sure no one gets a hairball. We're kind of in a limbo here in terms of graduating the guys to chunkier fare and whole prey. Life is so busy these days it's seems to be easier to just give them what they want (soupy) than try to bargain with them to eat what's good for them (prey)....
Thanks for keeping Poley in your thoughts. The little guy had gone through so much. The plan is to get him on the implant, make sure his hormones stablize, maybe ultrasound him in 2-3 months to see how big his adrenal gland is. If it's massive and completely occlude the vena cava, we might reconsider surgery and just get the offending gland out for good. But that's further down the road... right now we just want him to feel better. Haven't heard him dook for a long time....
Talk to you soon!
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Post by Heather on Mar 30, 2009 23:00:48 GMT -5
I'm glad that the rest of your guys are enjoying their adventures into the varied world of frankenprey What types of meats do your guys eat now? I certainly understand about being too busy to even think. I've been meaning to feed some juvenile mice downstairs but lately I've been so busy that I've just been feeding and watering them. I noticed today that some of those naughty little mice girls are very pregers.....bad little things, maybe I should blame the naughty little boys. I'm really worried about poor Mr. Poley. His candle is still lit and I will be thinking about him. Let me know if his new lupron shot is helping at all. "You get better Mr. Poley, we're all pushing for you We want to hear you dook again" Watch him for dehydration, they won't eat when they're dehydrated, poor little boy. Hugs and snuggles being sent to him and to the rest of your guys. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Apr 1, 2009 0:42:37 GMT -5
Poley's not doing so great. He ate very little again today so we started force feeding him. Just some chicken baby food with a little bit of cream. He wouldn't lick it off the spoon so we had to squirt small bites into his mouth. He's not pleased by at least we got some food into him. I think we'd pushed our luck too far and the lupron is not reversing the effects quick enough... my poor baby. I feel terrible for putting him through this.... gotta have a chat with the vet tomorrow.
Think I'll put some pumpkin in his breakfast and see if that settles his stomach a little more. Talk to you soon
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Post by Heather on Apr 2, 2009 0:07:25 GMT -5
Ohhh, Mr Poley, you hang in there we're sending you healing thoughts. Have you thought about getting some carnivore care to mix with his baby food? I used to mix 1 tbsp with 1 jar of either veal or chicken baby food and then adding enough water to allow it to be picked up by the syringe. You could use the cream if you wanted. Just a thought, I found that Aremis as he started to get sicker, couldn't process cream, in fact when he ate it he actually seemed to have some difficulty digesting it. Perhaps, Mr Poley is having difficulty digesting the creme in the mixture. It's just a thought, I don't know this for sure. Good luck sweetie, know that you're in my thoughts. Give Mr Poley a big hug and snuggle for me. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Apr 2, 2009 20:00:25 GMT -5
Spoke with the vet this morning when Poley's not perking up from the Lupron. We took him in to get some blood work done and the vet tech noticed that his gums are pale.When they quickly spun down his blood and did the pack cell volume, it was pretty obvious that he's anemic. They tested his pee and there's blood in it... That's never good news.... we're holding our breaths for the bloodwork results tomorrow morning. Dr. Mike is thinking that Poley might need surgery and if he's too anemic he'll need a transfusion. Hopefully it won't come to that but Gadget or Tassy might have to step up to the plate to save their brother...
I'm just feeling so guilty that we didn't make the right call for Poley. He'd been looking pale and we brought that up with Dr. Mike but he checked Poley's gums and they look fine... until today. Now we might lose Poley, and not from adrenal. We'd been barking up the wrong tree all along.... .I really hope that I'm wrong but the last time I saw a ferret looking like this, it was our Sally and she didn't get better....
We thought the cream might not the best for Poley too. So we took some of the ground chicken, pureed it, put extra pumpkin in it and strained it through a seive. We're feeding him every 2 hours or so last night and gave him so more this morning. Not really sure how much he'd pooped but he had a messy bum when we came home.
Sorry I'm just babbling on. All I wanted to do is to hold Poley and will him to get better. Hope I'll have good news to report tomorrow... Talk to you soon.
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Post by Heather on Apr 2, 2009 23:14:33 GMT -5
I don't know what to say Blood in the urine could mean an infection, bladder stones? These are a possibility. You can't blame yourself. It's one of the problems when dealing with fert diseases. The symptoms are so ambiguous and conflicting. You think you're treating one thing and it turns into something completely different . Know that a candle is lit and my thoughts are with you. Let me know how he's doing. Take care, give Mr Poley a hug and a kiss from me, tell him to be brave..we're sending healing energies his way. ciao
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