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Post by Heather on Jun 24, 2010 0:42:16 GMT -5
Sounds like you're making progress You are an absolutely awesome "ferrant". You've come through this fert trial with flying colours. This has not been easy for either of you. You both are very brave ciao
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jun 24, 2010 8:17:28 GMT -5
It would be good if ferry could learn to lick herself when she felt the need to empty her bladder. It would be difficult to know whether or not she emptied her bladder completely, but if she continued to lick herself due to discomfort at least you have a "sign" that she's feeling "full"/uncomfortable. If the licking continues non-stop, then you know you need to help or an infection could be flaring (or excessive crystals).
If Ferry may be getting lazy, you may might want to try getting her interested in playing a "chase game" with a cat toy (such as a "mouse" on a string) she may be more inclined to try to use her back legs to chase a mouse! Most young ferrets welcome the opportunity to chase a mouse!!!
-jennifer
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Post by sherrylynne on Jun 24, 2010 20:14:58 GMT -5
Mine go crazy for cat teaser toys on the wands! I'm willing to bet Ferry would get a tone of exercise with one
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Post by tommy on Jun 26, 2010 16:13:21 GMT -5
Here is a video of her walk today. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LBh5KhsN4g It's her best yet! However she reverted back to her paddling after a while. I'm going to try to get her to chase a toy. Currently, she is uninterested in everything. Oh, and she took her first bite today on my arm. It didn't draw blood but I was shocked as she has never bitten anyone. I was adjusting her legs and belly while she was sitting and I think she got annoyed.
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Post by tommy on Jun 26, 2010 16:58:05 GMT -5
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Post by sherrylynne on Jun 26, 2010 18:49:45 GMT -5
Oh, wow! I cannot believe how far she's come along. That's one very determined little girl That first video is so funny! It looks like she just suddenly decided, "Ok. That's it. I've walked far enough, and I'm done now!"
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Post by Heather on Jun 27, 2010 1:11:04 GMT -5
Wow, she's doing so well. Great work. Absolutely fantastic ciao
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jun 27, 2010 20:41:44 GMT -5
I'm so impressed with her progress!!!She's zipping right along!!! You may want to try gently massaging her hind legs and feet - especially the weaker side....this will increase blood flow to the extremities and promote healing. The velvet antler is a good supply of mineral and calcium. Liver is a good iron source. CoQ-10 provides nourishment at the cellular level. My 5 year old girl just had an adrenal gland removed...I gave her about 3 drops of CoQ10 (30 milligrams) every other day a couple of weeks before the surgery, and I'm continuing the same dosage for about about 2 months -3 months after the surgery. My girl''s incision healed faster at 5 than her spay incision healed at 11 months old! I didn't try anything for the spay surgery.
I'm hoping she's peeing a little more on her own as well.
-jennifer
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Post by tommy on Jun 28, 2010 7:22:43 GMT -5
TCM animal products are banned in the UK so I got my sister to send the velvet antlers from Singapore but she marked the package as Chinese herbs!!! I'll be lucky if it makes it through...
CoQ10 I can get easily, thanks!
I haven't managed to express her bladder for a few days now. She kicks violently and yesterday she bit me! I'm Using the wet toilet paper method and she usually does it when we are out on a walk. I can't ever tell if she does it in a cage because it's a terrible mess when I get home!
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Post by Heather on Jun 28, 2010 12:47:47 GMT -5
Sounds like activity is expressing it for her. That's a good thing. Sounds like a step forward. Well, maybe not the biting thing They're not always the most cooperative patients and certainly not the most sensitive I've been bit more times than I care to think about working with sick ferts. Had to get my husband to remove a dying ferret a couple of months ago. Sometimes, they get tired of you trying to rescue them {sigh}. Anyway, sounds like your little one is perhaps mending. You will have to take her to the vet if her belly starts to feel hard or she gets uncomfortable but it really does sound like she's figured out a way to do this unpleasant activity herself ciao
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Post by tommy on Jun 28, 2010 18:20:53 GMT -5
I think the urine situation is under control for now. I'll monitor her belly.
Came home to her maybe pulled out patches of hair around her lower body. What's going on? Too hot? Phantom pregnancy? It sounds a lot more dramatic than it looks. It's just an area Around one of her thighs and bottom back.
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jun 29, 2010 0:42:25 GMT -5
Weird shedding can be caused by phantom/false pregnancy, being in heat too long, jill jabs (shots to take them out of season) etc. Can you gently pluck fur that's loose elwhere??? THis may be the beginning of a shedding cycle initiated by hormonal fluctuation.
In general, hormonally mediated fur loss tends to be bilertally symmetical (although it may not start out this way.
If she is pulling fur out - two things you want to thnk about.. 1. ingesting fur can cause hairballs/intestinal obtruction. add a little olive oil daily to mitigate this risk. Ferry does not need
2. disomfort/pain - which may be due to healing - muscle cramping (good pain) or pinched nerve (bad pain). for muscle cramping, you may be able to detect sensitive, tight or knotted muscles. Stretching would e more likely todeect pinched nerve. If you try to test for mobiliy of the legs, do this VERY carefully since this could make injury worse.
3. f the fu is misssing around th lwertummy, she ma have bladers/vaginal/uterine discomfort. f the plucking is fom the lwer ack - it could involve pelvis/spine or kidney
4 could be neurotic behavior/stress/hormonal fluctuation???
5. bug bites or allergy
keep us posted...more clues may develop to give you a better idea.
-jennifer
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Post by Heather on Jun 29, 2010 12:06:14 GMT -5
Considering where my studies are taking me right now. It's my understanding that even with the jill jab she will probably go into a pseudo pregnancy or phantom pregnancy. Some jills strip off their belly hair to make a soft nest for their kits. Watch to see if she does start making a nest. "If the jill has been mated to a v-hob or if for any other reason (jill jab)she has not been fertilised, the the jill will go into pseudo-pregnancy (phantom pregnancy). This will last for between forty and forty-two days, and the jill will return to oestrus within about two weeks of the end of this period. Obviously, the return of the jill to oestrus depends on the photoperiod under which she is maintained." Ferret Breeding, James McKay So, she could very well be going through a false pregnancy, and because the natural light is on the down swing (summer is way too short) she may not go back into oestrus at this point. You will have to watch to see if she doesn't go back into oestrus at the end of this time period. If she doesn't you won't have to worry about this until around Feb/March time frame (at least around here). Jennifer gave you a whole list this was one of her suggestions and considering your little ones history as we know it, this false pregnancy thing could well be the issue Good luck, give her a big snuggle from me Such a brave little girl ciao
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Post by tommy on Jun 29, 2010 16:55:21 GMT -5
She hasn't plucked out much hair today so maybe it was a one-off thing. I will continue to monitor her and test out hair on her other parts.
She seems to have caught my cold though. I've had it for two weeks, and she was sneezing a lot just now when I held her! Or she could be allergic to the manuka honey on my face?
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Post by Heather on Jun 29, 2010 22:20:34 GMT -5
According to threads on the ferrethealth list, ferrets can't get colds...but they can get upper respiratory infections. Watch her closely as her immunity is probably not the strongest at the moment. Ferrets are very prone to pneumonia and it's usually not something you can pick up listening to their chests. Unfortunately, it can often only be diagnosed with an x-ray. If you think that she's having difficulty breathing and she's off her food and lethargic then that's something that you should consider. I've nursed a few ferrets through upper respiratory infections and like us with a cold they're often a bit off but don't require vet intervention. Just keep a close eye on her ciao
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