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Post by Alliemegan on Jan 5, 2009 0:00:54 GMT -5
Back to work tomorrow so I'll try to figure out the slippery elm capsules. Will keep you posted. There's much fear-mongering on the internet when I was looking up what magnesium stearate is... naturalpaths claiming it a "toxin". Being a chemist, I can honestly tell you that it's always the dose that makes the poison. Everything is toxic when you take enough of it. You just need to be mindful of what's too much. I agree, it's better to deal with the real herb than capsules coz you know exactly what you're getting. Poley's still a bit gassy today but the poopies are not as scary as a couple of days ago. His appetite had gotten better too and was finishing his bowl of pumpkin soupy. He's going to the vet tomorrow. He's due for another Lupron shot. You can tell that it's worn off coz his prostate discharge had return and he's getting aggressive with his brothers again. Gadget was extremely crossed when Poley wouldn't stop chewing on his ears . Our seller should find out whether they're getting their house in Mississauga before the end of Monday so that's when we're going to know if they're selling theirs to us. let me tell you, I was a nervous wreck today. The suspense is really killing me.... I couldn't sleep at all last night and I was alternating between wine and chocolate all afternoon. My skin and my stomach will pay for that in days to come. Oh, and thanks for reminding me about moving! I was dreading that since we starting house hunting The logistics of moving 6 furry creatures is a bit of a tough nut to crack... My 9 year old cat D'Artagnan (he can join the rest of your musketeers!) pees himself every time we break out the carrier and when we moved into this house 3.5 years ago, he hid behind the fridge for a full day before he came out for food.... this is going to be traumatic for him. But I promised him this is the last time ever. Will check in with you later and let you know what's up with Poley. Night@
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Post by Heather on Jan 6, 2009 0:19:40 GMT -5
Ohhh no, kitties and moving. Ferts are easy. Life is a great big adventure as long as their people are there and they've got their stinky blankies with them. Poor kitties, life is just one trauma after another. Might I suggest some rescue remedy...if not for your kitty....for you Could some of Mr Poley's tummy upset be because he's at the end of his Lupron shot? It's got to be a lot of stress for him as his hormones start acting up again poor little boy. Could I ask you what it costs you for his Lupron shot? I know that it is hugely dictated from one vet to another but I've got a little girl who looks like she might be adrenal. She has no other signs other than a swollen vulva but that can be the key sign. So I will have to talk to the vet regarding treatment. She's a sweet little thing but is 7 or so. Good luck, I hope that you get your place. I will talk at you later ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Jan 8, 2009 23:26:08 GMT -5
Well... bad news. We didn't get the house. Our sellers didn't get the house in Mississauga so they're not going to sell us theirs. We're pretty bummed out for the last couple of days but we gotta move on . On the bright side, kitties won't have to freak out over moving to a new house just yet I got the slippery elm capsules figured out. It looks like it's actually at least 95% slippery elm. Poley seems to be doing okay with the extra pumpkin. Poopies are firming up a little bit everyday. So I'm going hold off on the slippery elm for now. He's eating really well these days. Eating everything we put in from of him, bar any chunky bits of heart or bone. What a good boy.... You're probably right about Poley being stressed out as the Lupron wears off. I mean, it must be like male PMS for the poor little guy. and I would say that's pretty stressful. Our vet charges us around 50 bucks for a 100mcg shot and Poley needs 2 of those every month. He also has a melatonin implant that set us back 70 bucks but that's good for 4 months and we don't have to medicate him orally. I'm sorry to hear that your little girl might be getting adrenal. 99% of the times is the left one and adrenalectomy is curative. Merry and Gadget both had the left adrenal out and they're totally fine... well, Merry has insulinoma but that's a different story. 7 years old might be a bit risky for surgery though... Merry is going in for teeth cleaning next week. His breath is terrible and the tartar is really bad. I want to make sure he doesn't lose any teeth... the poor little guy is also prone to mast cell tumors. He has one growing on his prepuce. It's totally benign but it's grown big enough that it looked like it's blocking his pee. So we had that removed about a year ago, but now it's back. We're going to have to take care of that as well... Anyhow, back to house hunting madness. TGIF... will check in with you soon!
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Post by Heather on Jan 9, 2009 1:40:39 GMT -5
I'm so sorry that you didn't get your house, what a let down. Now you have to start all over again. Maybe the next house you find will be even better everything happens for a reason . I would agree with you. I would continue with Mr Poley's diet the way it is. He's happy and eating, that's what really counts. Use the slippery elm as a back up if you find that the pumpkin isn't working. I will light a healing candle for Merry. Poor little guy, bad enough to have a tooth ache but a regrowing tumour, what a pain ouch!! Maybe, they will get it all this time. Napoleon has one on his front foot, lucky for him it doesn't interfere with anything and after removing it once and finding it back again within the year we've opted to leave it alone. It looks like you don't really have an option with Merry, poor little fuzzy. Good luck, with both Merry's proceedures and your house hunting. Talk at you soon ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Jan 20, 2009 17:04:40 GMT -5
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Post by Heather on Jan 21, 2009 1:55:32 GMT -5
I was hoping that it was the house hunting. I'm always a little nervous when there are chronically sick furkids involved. I do a lot of the high risk switches for the furbabies here. I've had to say goodbye a couple of times. Soooo, whenever they sort of disappear it makes me a little .... nervous. I'm glad that is was nothing more than life getting in the way of living . Don't feel too badly that you have to drop back on a standby dinner for your furbabies. You did fantastic anyway....you dropped back on to raw, not kibbles. I've had some drop back to kibbles and then we have to start all over again...it's not as bad as when they first tried the switch but it does present it's own setbacks. Just take care that they don't back you into a corner regarding what they will and won't eat. As you know, they like to get fixated on a type of food. They will do the same thing with the raw. Don't let them decide that they will only eat chicken . As far as having a certain consistency....I know all about that. My guys got really ticked at me because I couldn't find any chicken livers to mix in their chicken, only hearts. They did eat, but they were picky and very naughty. Showing their displeasure by stealing the full bowl and hiding it around the house. They know I can't get stuff out from under the water bed and that's where the little bums hid the bowl. So then kitties were upset too . Poor, naked Mr Poley. Speaking of naked, I have another person who's little girl is also very naked but her stage of adrenal is more advanced and her skin has got very thin and she's cold a lot. I mentioned that you got a sweater for Mr. Poley...would you mind letting me know where you got your clothing? Her little girl is very tiny and she doesn't fit anything that she's tried so far. It seems that most of the clothing is meant for little boys. I suggested children's socks but I have to try and remember who gave me the idea so I can pick their brain I thought I would check with you first as I remember the cute little outfit that Mr. Poley had. I can't even imagine trying to hang on to a greased ferret. One with fur is bad enough, I wouldn't want to catch one that is furless and greased Ohhh your poor carpets. They just can't stand it when we try and help them Give the little greased pig a big hug from me but don't squeeze him too tightly or you will be chasing him down the hallway again Aremis is in remession...go figure...he's one tough little customer. His balance is poor (his backend seems to have a certain drunken list to it ) but he's back to his old tricks (beating up the little girls) He's put on some weight and he's giving life another go round. I will check in with you later and see if you've been able to get enough heart to keep those spoiled little furbabies of yours happy. Give the little furbrats great big hugs and kisses from me and also give a couple of tickles on that naked belly of Mr Poley ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Jan 21, 2009 15:25:31 GMT -5
Ohhhh... now I really feel like a jerk for not checking in. I can totally see why you get worried when there's a lack of updates. Ferrets... they act all fine one minute and they just suddenly go down. The boys and I all appreciate how much you care about us. And we double promise that we won't disappear on you like that again I can't imagine dropping the boys back to noshing on only kibbles. We'll never forget how hard it was just to get them to taste real chicken. We're not doing THAT again! I have to admit hubby and I had been taking the easy way out lately. It's so much easier if we just yield to what the furkids want -- warmer, more pumpkin, less liver, more chicken broth.... the list goes on, than to fight them every step of the way to get the to eat chunkier fare. But one look at Merry's teeth and we know we can't let these guys have their ways... Mr. Poley's hoodie was from an online store call Ferret Couture www.ferretcouture.co.uk/. They are based in the UK and have the cutest little hoodies for a pretty girl furkid. I have to confess, they are pretty pricey for what they're selling. Usually Emily (I think she's the owner) replies pretty quickly to emails but I haven't heard back from her on a recent request. I would suggest getting a solid email reply before placing an order, just to find out if there's any delay. I read about using tube socks as improv clothing for ferrets too. Basically you cut the toe of the sock off, slip it onto the ferret, mark where the front paws are. Cut out the armholes and PRESTO! I haven't tried it myself but conceptually it's very doable. Test it out on some holey old socks, get the design down and then get some nice pink cashmere socks for the real thing Tube socks probably works best as you don't have to worry about the heel... or use the leg part of some long knee socks! Oh the possibilities! <I think I just saw Poley slowly backing away from his crazy mommy> Hope your other mentoree (?) will score some nice clothes for the naked little girl. I'm so glad to hear Aremis is still pulling his weight in the household, keeping those rowdy girls in check will check in with you soon!
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Post by Heather on Jan 22, 2009 0:37:13 GMT -5
Don't beat yourself up...we all have times when life gets in the way of things and even best intentions get shoved to the side. It is easier just to allow them to stay merrily where they're at and in all truth, it's a whole lot better for them than kibbles, so I'm not going to be too much on your case As you grind your mix, then I know that it's balanced. But....you know you could do a lot better and that's your plan. I also will reinterate though, your guys have health issues and sometimes compromises are necessary. I use Aremis as my model in this. For a time he was eating only Heinz baby food and carnivore care (terrible diet for tooth care). I was feeding him 3 or 4 times a day. We're now down to once a day (so we can get the pred into him) and the rest is ground, whole meats and prey. It was so good to see him fighting Sprite and Squiggly for his half rabbit. If you find yourself consistently feeding a soupy or more liquid raw make sure that you check your guys teeth so that they don't get all cruddy. You may find that you have to scratch off some of the scale with your fingernail if your guys will let you. You can also brush their teeth... a real pain. Do your guys like gibblets...they're fantastic toofy cleaners and my guys will fight over them. They're cheap too Just a thought, I know that you've just got your second lupron shot for Mr. Poley. One of the lady's on the ferrethealth list, just finished mentioning that her boy wasn't putting any fur on either. It seems that for some ferrets the fluctuating hormones caused by the shots sometimes prevents hair growth. It may actually take more than one or two shots to stabalize and eventually grow hair. So, Mr Poley may indeed have a fur coat yet. Thank you for the clothing information, I will post it to her and see if she's up to ordering a hoody for her little girl. Pink tube socks sound really good too ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Jan 22, 2009 23:11:12 GMT -5
Giblets, eh? I should pick some up this weekend and see if the boys will go for that. You're absolutely right, we really need to get back into the habit of experimenting with different meats. I remember you said your guys enjoy necks too. Do you just throw them the whole neck or you hack it to bits first? I really want them to gnaw on some bones, just to clean their teeth if for nothing else (this way it's more enjoyable for all parties! ) The wing thing was a no-go and they don't seem to like drumsticks in their un-ground, whole form.... I'll try to convince hubby to get some pinky mice for the kids this weekend (he doens't seem to be able feed a whole animal to another animal... if it's just body parts, it's food. When you see the whole animal, different story ). Are you supposed to thaw the frozen pinkies? Warm them up like the soupy (I don't know if they're going to explode in the microwave.... GROSS!) or serve as mouse-icle? These little punks are definitely noticing the change in texture in their soupy. Even Gadget needed some convincing. They all ate eventually but you can see the dissatisfaction on their faces. I feel like Lois from Malcom in the Middle... kinda ticked off. Thank goodness we feed them in the cage, I don't even want to know where they're going to hide their bowls in protest in my house. Our real estate agent is off to a ski trip this weekend so we're taking a break from house hunting too! Look forward to good cuddles with my boys...
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Post by Heather on Jan 23, 2009 0:45:51 GMT -5
If you feed necks, you might give a go with a hammer first. The unfortunate thing is trying to convince them that it's food. You can also play a game of tug with it.... ....it then allows them to get the meat in their mouth and they might actually try eating some of it. Feeding whole animals to another animal, brings in a whole lot of different and conflicting emotions. There are a lot of people who can't get past that. When we buy meat from a butcher or the grocery store we don't think of the animal, we think of what it's going to become on our dinner plate. If you notice it's very rare that we have food that looks a lot like the original creature. I think there would probably be a lot more veggitarians around if we honestly had to stop and think about what we were eating . Feeding pinkies....I would leave them out for a few minutes and let them thaw a bit. Maybe even leave them out long enough to place them at room temperature. It won't take very long, they're really small. I never thought about it until I started to raise my own mice. I don't think I would warm them in the microwave...if they did pop you wouldn't find enough to scrape off the microwave to put in your guys food bowl You may want to sit on this spot for a couple of days with the new consistency with the soupy. When they're comfortable with that then try it a little thicker still. Each ferret will have their own pace, push it too hard and they will backpedal and stop eating. I found this to be particularly true with the last two guys I switched. Captain Jack (Jack Jack) is ruled by his tummy ....Lady Calypso, not so . If I push too hard she puts out the breaks and stops eating. I was dancing the happy dance yesterday because it was the first day since I got her that I actually saw her eat by herself from the communal food bowl. I now have to convince them that whole meat is the way to go It ain't happening right now I hope that you enjoy spending a weekend snuggling your guys, it sounds wonderful Throw in a few snuggles from me ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Jan 25, 2009 1:26:47 GMT -5
We picked up some duck gizzard and some pinkies this afternoon.... wow, pinkies are TINY! I think we're going to try giving one to the boys in the morning. I didnt really ask how much before they rang them up and they turn out to be $1.25 each! The boys better like them coz they are insanely expensive! Think I'm going to thaw them in a ziplock bag, run them under warm water... maybe the boys will like a warm meal!
The gizzards are pretty big. Do you usually cut them up?
Will let you know how the kids make up with breakfast? Have a good weekend!
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Post by Heather on Jan 26, 2009 0:15:37 GMT -5
Pinkies are really small and they're expensive. My guys love them but they're real pros at this so a pinky or two is gone in a gulp. As I raise my own mice, I usually wait for the little sods to grow up. It's really too bad you live so far away, I would gladly have given you some of the little bundles (I've got more than I can count at the moment). I hope your guys like them, they are fantastic little protein packages, unfortunately there's not much in the way of calcium but your guys might consider graduating up the mousy line until they will eat the whole mouse...fuzz and all. Of course the price is just about the same A little more expensive. I think I paid about 2.50 for my breeding stock. I've never fed duck gizzards...are they much bigger than chicken? I've fed turkey, so I'm guessing that they're about the same size??!! My guys eat them (and fight over them I might add) one piece or many. Try your guys with it cut in half...if they won't eat it that way try smaller pieces but I would try and see if they will take on the whole or at least half the gizzard. We're trying to get the benefit of the gristle to clean their teeth so if they will eat them whole it will be a bonus. Good luck, you will have to let me know how breakfast went ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Jan 26, 2009 1:37:23 GMT -5
Well, first attempt with the gizzard was a wash. Duck gizzards are pretty big, like the size of a fig. I cut them up in little pea size cubes and mixed them into their soupy but they all ate around the chucky bits. I was hoping Gadget will have a go at it. He did pick one piece up, chomped on it a couple of times and spat it out like it's some unappetizing gristle... ferrets can be so rude sometimes I tied a chunk on some dental floss and tried to engage them to play with it, but they just ignored me and did their own thing... bunch of little brats! As I was chopping up the gizzards, I can see how that texture will be great for cleaning teeth. I think I'm going to try slivers instead of cubes for tomorrow's breakfast... heck, I should stop babying them and just give them a quarter of a gizzard... think I'll try both. Same disappointment with the pinkies. The brats just kinda sniffed it and walked away. I put some ferretone on it but they just licked the 'tone off and left the main attraction I left that in the cat's bowl and it later disappeared. Not sure if one of the cats or fert ate it or someone just stashed it. I'm expecting to find a pinkie jerky I have 4 more pinkies in the freezer. Think I'll try another one tonight. Wow, you're breeding your own feeder mices? You got a whole circle of life thing going on at your house! It's a whole extra set of creatures that need your care but it makes so much sense to have a colony of feeders when you have 16 little brats to feed. It's the first step to getting the stubborn kids to try new stuff. It wasn't easy the first time and I don't expect it to be easy this time either. Things we do for the creatures we love will keep you posted on the progress!
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Post by Alliemegan on Jan 30, 2009 18:53:37 GMT -5
Well, it's been almost a week and my boys had gotten really good at eating AROUND the gizzard They just somehow don't like the texture. Didn't matter if I cut them big or small they just wouldn't have anything to do with it. In fact, I think I'll have to back off a bit... I think Tassy is getting pissed off by "unappettizing: chunks in his food, he's back sliding a little and need spoon feeding to get him started.... he's lucky that he's so d**n adorable or I'll have to kick his little butt! It's been 3 weeks since Poley's last Lupron shot and it looks like it's starting to wear off again. He's back to picking on poor Merry. We talked to Dr. Mike last month about bumping up his Lupron schedule to 3 weeks instead of 4... looks like that will have to happen. This house-hunting thing is starting to lose its appeal. Now it's just depressing... you won't believe the state some of these houses are in by looking at the price tag. Unfortunately we're not one of the people who won the huge 649 jackpot last week so the search continues.... Stay warm and have a great weekend! Talk to you soon!
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Post by Heather on Jan 31, 2009 0:12:29 GMT -5
Go back to something your furbabies like and freeze your gibblets...now that just sounded rude..... Considering the weather tonight entirely possible I hate snow They're not ready to try the gibblets yet...it was worth a try. Captain Jack and Calypso aren't there yet either. He tried a quail leg, just a little corner but Calypso wouldn't even try....if it's not ground it doesn't get eaten Brats!! You're right it's a good thing that they are so adorable or they would all be cooling their little furry butts in the snow bank. I actually brought the snowbank to them today and we made snow tunnels in the middle of the living room. What a mess I'm sorry to hear that Mr. Poley is being a brat....is there a different med that might work better than the lupron? How's his tummy? The poopies better? Is his fur coming in at all? I'm sorry that house hunting is such a pain, I remember how difficult it was when we were looking and we weren't even trying to find a place close to the city. We're a good hour maybe even more but people still consider this a commutable distance (crazy ) which drives up the prices of homes. I wouldn't even want to try and get a place in the city. Good luck, you will find a place, when the time is right you will find your place I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that you and your furbabies get your home. Have a relaxing and warm weekend....I will be freezing my bum off trying to get my silly puppy to pose for a photographer who does pics for browntrout calendars. I know that Lake Ontario is beautiful and the boardwalk in Cobourg is wonderful but there is a reason I avoid it like the plague in the winter Oh brrrr. Talk at you later. Let me know how Tassy is doing once she finds something more familiar in her food bowl ciao
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