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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 12, 2010 1:40:51 GMT -5
Hello everyone,
I am posting this pretty late because I can't sleep. Tonight I checked on everyone and found monster to be worse with his grinding teeth than I first thought. He went to the bottom where the food was, ate some food, licked some water, and than went on to grind his teeth.
The picture included is what he looked like when he came to me. Rough fur and all. It is the closest to what I have off hand of what he looks like tonight. He is no longer plump, and his fur is short and wire like. He still plays, and his poop is the normal brown, long, not thin type of poop.
I put him on pepto again .08 ml a day since It is the only thing off hand that i have, but what else can I do for him until i can afford a vet visit?
I am getting in 200 tomorrow hopefully, but after bills I will see whats left for me to take him back to the vet. :sigh: I need to pay the vet as it is from my cat.
Also, What is the typical pain medicine that is used for him and how much? I need to know so that when I take him to the vet, I can ask for it. My vet only really knows the basics on exotics, but it's the only one with a pay plan that I can go too.
or, do you guys know a list of vets that do a pay plan that are in va?
Thanks a ton, cara
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Post by Heather on Feb 13, 2010 0:04:15 GMT -5
He needs to be seen by a vet, there's no way around it. He needs a full check up and probably antibiotics. I'm presently treating 2 ferrets for helicobacter virus (ulcers), you "need" those medications. Usually, sulcrate to buffer the antibiotics and then some different antibiotics. Loki's on metronidazole and zantac plus the sulcrate and Nicodemus is on amoxicillin, zantac and of course the sulcrate. At present Nicodemus is also getting sub q fluids daily along with electrolite balancer (I make my own but you can use pedialite). Both fuzzies are fed a raw soupy as they won't eat by themselves. Loki's in the late stages of renal failure and this has caused his ulcers. Nicodemus is in the late stages of adrenal. Ulcers are usually caused by some type of stress (this can be physical or it can be environmental). You need to get to the bottom of why he's in pain. Ulcers are also not a fast treatment (usually). They require a minimum of one month of treatment. Loki has been on meds now since September (everytime he comes off his meds, he was on amoxycillin, his ulcers come back, this is do to his illness and seemingly this is common in renal failure) Nico has only been on him meds since the beginning of the week. In the space of a couple of days he lost huge amounts of weight and stopped eating and drinking. I hope that someone can respond with an answer as to what vets might allow for payments, what about your regular vet? My vet doesn't allow for payments but because I'm a frequent flyer through her clinic, she will allow it. ciao
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 13, 2010 13:02:03 GMT -5
I have tracked down a vet in Orange county that seems to be decent. One vet even offers acupuncture + holistic medicine methods.
I am going to be borrowing money from my parents to take monster to the vet + lelloo because I watched her poop today and it didn't look too good. She quirted poop, and than had a tar, regular, tar looking poop. :gah: Can't everyone wait till I get a Better paycheck!
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Post by Heather on Feb 13, 2010 23:25:21 GMT -5
Good luck and keep us posted ciao
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Post by sherrylynne on Feb 14, 2010 0:49:27 GMT -5
Glad you've found a vet that should be able to help! As far as waiting until a better paycheck? Mine usually pick a couple days before rent is due, AFTER I've spent a mint on their food
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 15, 2010 18:14:52 GMT -5
Well, after trying to ring my brain picking a vet, I ended up going to Orange county. The faculity were freindly, and we talked about ferrets, dogs, etc. They even had a parot there to get his toes and beak clipped because he kept eating his owners $200 purse, etc. The owner and me got a long, talking about ferrets, birds, etc.
also, My car got stuck there so someone helped push me up the snow out of the snow. XD
This is my bill + medicine.
Proffessional Exam- Dr. hillary Cook, DVM- 59.00 Amoxi-Drops- 50mg/ml 30ml - 27.29 Metronidazole Solution 1/2 oz- 15.81 Famotidine 10 mg. tablets-15.00 Sucralfate Tabs 1 gram- 17.92
in total- 135.02
The meds are prescribed as listed: Famotidine or sucralfate is 20 minits before a meal. 1/4 tablet. The vet assistant cut them for me. ^.^
Famotidine or Sucralfate 1/4 tablet once a day. I don't remember which is which. It's on the bottle, but i'm too lazy to go check.
Amoxi Drops- .25cc twice daily Metronidazole solution- .25cc twice daily.
So..Is the vet correct, and the charges acualy seem pretty low.
Once I get a some money in, I will test monster for adrenal which she recomended.
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Post by sherrylynne on Feb 17, 2010 0:48:10 GMT -5
That actually sounds VERY reasonable to me. I pay $62 for an office visit/exam. Only one of mine has needed meds(beyond lupron that is) other than Sinnead a couple years ago(different vet, higher cost). I also pay $158 for an xray, just to give you an idea. Adrenal is diagnosed on symptoms here, because sending the blood test through a third party across the border runs about $300 a shot!
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 17, 2010 22:44:02 GMT -5
How skinny is too skinny?
I picked up monster today and noticed that his rips are rather prominent ageist my fingers. I picked up everyone else, and noticed that while monster feels bony, they feel like they actually have meat on their ribs.
I gave him some chicken baby food and egg white mixture + some ground beef mixed in. He ate and had a pot belly once more.
Do you think the meds are making him not want to eat?
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Post by Heather on Feb 17, 2010 23:03:12 GMT -5
Have you got some weight measurement on him before he got sick.? I keep a monthly weight on my guys, I do it when I cut their toenails. This allows me to keep track of seasonal fluctuations, illnesses and weight losses and gains during treatments. Monster will take awhile to get his weight back, he's been ill for awhile and has to be eating regularly to put on weight. Please, don't feed just egg whites, feed mixed egg white and yolk or just yolk but not egg whites. Egg whites cause biotin difficiency and will cause your little one to get sicker. You might try picking up a product called Carnivore Care. It's fantastic and works very well for sick fuzzies. Up here I have to get it from the vet, I believe you can order it down in the US. There are a couple of reasons why he doesn't want to eat. It hurts, and he relates food to pain and the meds may cause him to loose his appetite. You may find that you will have to hand feed him for awhile. I've been feeding Loki by hand since Sept. but he's in complete renal failure and is in the last stages of this horrible disease. Good luck and keep us posted ciao
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 17, 2010 23:34:58 GMT -5
I will mix both egg next time! I had not idea if it was okay or not. Thanks for warning me.
No i don't have the actually weight other than an estimate. I weighed him and he's exactly 2 lbs while jack jack is just over 3lbs. Monster use to be about as big as jack jack. maybe around 2 1/2 lbs.
What can I use other than Carnivore Care? At the moment, I don't have the money. Along with his vet bill, My car had a flat today so tomorrow i need to get a new tire.
What are some good ingredients to have on hand? What about kitten milk would that be good to add to a mixture?
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Post by Heather on Feb 18, 2010 0:00:04 GMT -5
If you can't get the carnivore care keep feeding what you're feeding if he's eating it without too much of a fuss. I don't know about that kitten stuff. We (the mentors) were discussing a kitten product but the contents were horrible and not something that I would feed a ferret (wouldn't feed it to a cat either ), so check the product content first. Remember kitten supplement is only meant to tide over a dire emergency. It would probably be used only a few weeks at most, probably only a few days until you can get that little kitten eating something else. Anything preserved with BHT/BHA is to be avoided at all costs. Your little one is already at risk you don't want to stack the deck against him. You may want to add some finely ground egg shell to your soupy mix (babyfood and such) if he starts have really runny poops. I make my own babyfood and make it with bone in but I've fed ferrets with meat only baby food (manufactured, Heinz I think) for quite some time without having any problems. According to Dr Murrya (I think it was this vet) you can feed meat baby food for up to 6 months without too many ill effects. He claims that you won't want to feed just that longer than that but if I'm feeding just baby food I resort to feeding carnivore care with it. Keep us posted ciao
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 22, 2010 11:54:51 GMT -5
Updates- I had to work Sat-sunday so I had some off feedings. Sunday Monster missed his second batch of meds because my mother is un reliable and forgot to give him the meds from the morning time. I got off late, and had to wake up early so I just fed him the missing meds from the first dose of the day, and went to bed. I did make a mush out of kibble. Not sure if it helped. He ate spoon fulls, and last night ate some kibble from my hand. I weighed him, and he was about 2lb's still. I also did a test to see how much he is eating, and in 5-6 hours he only ate about a table spoon + a little more of kibble. My scale broke so I don't have a scale to work with. Good news! I got a food processor. How can I make duck soup with the food processor?
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Post by Heather on Feb 23, 2010 0:05:56 GMT -5
Keep trying to get his meds into him as best you can. The more accurate and regular you are with his medication the sooner he will get better. I know, I too have found myself missing their meds on occasion. What you really have to do is get more food into his body. I make my own baby food. I take a whole chicken carcass and simmer it in a slow cooker for 24 hrs, until the bones are soft...so soft the crumble into nothing. I put the whole thing into a food processor add some liquid from the chicken and create a soupy out of that. If my guys need it, I also add carnivore care to the mix. I also make a raw egg mixture made up of a raw egg, the shell (ground finely) ground meat (skin and fat...lots of fat), raw organ meat and hearts. I alternate both or feed which ever one they will eat most willingly. Your little one has to get more food into his tummy if you're going to get his ulcers to heal. His tummy has to be full before you give those meds or they will actually make him ill too. Good luck
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 26, 2010 14:01:58 GMT -5
Monster seems to be at the climax of the healing part. He grinds his teeth still, but not as much. He also feels to have gained some weight, maybe an ounce or two. ^.^
Thank you for the idea! I'll see about getting a chicken this week on the grocery shopping. Can I make the chicken ground, and than add the organs + egg Or does everything have to be separate?
Also, I have been studieing adrenal disease and I kind of get what it is, but what are the different ways to treat a ferret?
Dingo ( my recent addition as an emergency. I am trying to get his brother out of the hell hole.) is adrenal. He has a completly bald tail, the top of his head is balding, and the hip area of his but is bald. I feel terrible for him beause I was the one to put him in that home. But, atleast now, He's out and safe.
He is realy active, and has lelloo & Jack tackled. I read that some ferrets get tired, while others get wild. Monster lags often while Dingo is wild.
For dingo, Would it be safer to just get him on meds without blood tests, or have him tested just incase it isn't adrenal?
For adrenal Disease, I think i am going to go to the ferret vet guy in woodbridge that people keep telling me is realy good. Dr. Kawasaki is his name.
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Post by sherrylynne on Feb 26, 2010 18:02:56 GMT -5
I've never done a Tenn. panel for my adrenal ferrets, mainly due to cost here. The panel is over $300 for me in Canada. So, we just do lupron. It won't hurt them if they don't have adrenal, and if they start responding by the second shot, then it's pretty conclusive.
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