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Post by katt on Oct 23, 2010 18:00:28 GMT -5
Well I was referring to the Pastilles for ME! haha The store had it for animals too - it was such a great store, I can't believe I have not been there before! I will have to pick some Rescue Remedy up I guess. ...hmmmm...maybe next time he starts chewing things up, I should experiment and see just how much it takes to make Koda sleep.... haha Can I give it once a day every day? If his IBD is more stress related, then wouldn't that help us stabilize him?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Oct 23, 2010 18:25:03 GMT -5
Actually, some of the herbals can stop working if you use them regularly. I'd save the rescue remedy for travel, shedding season (if Koda stresses when he sheds), etc. If you use the original formula (with booze), he'll definitely develop a tolerance to the booze if you give it to him daily. I used to be able to get a buzz off of a single beer when I was younger . That's NOT going to happen these days -jennifer
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Post by katt on Oct 24, 2010 13:03:13 GMT -5
Guess my post didn't go through. My internet has been crappy lately, I need a new modem. Anyways, koda had GREAT poops (IMO) yesterday and last night. He has had just lamb (and pumpkin) the last several days. Last night I thawed out the rabbit and mixed it in with the lamb and added some pumpkin. I didn't have time to check him this morning bc I had to rush off to lab, but I will check for poops when I get home. ...I feel like such a weirdo being so obsessed with his poops and taking pictures all of the time and rushing over everytime he potties to see if it is a poop and what it looks like... *shakes head* The things we do for our fuzz. ;D lmao
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Post by mustelidmusk on Oct 24, 2010 22:13:44 GMT -5
Ferret Reality.....all fert owners become "poopaholics" But honestly, anyone who deals with animals is into poop. When you work in wildlife rehab, you keep charts, record the feeding time, the input, and of course, the OUTPUT - both quantity and quality!!!!! The bottom line is that animals are VERY stoic about their health problems. They MUST hide their issues to survive. If they show any weakness, they're targets for predators. So, girl, your poop fetish is a good thing for Koda's well-being, but it's not the type of fetish that everyone will understand -jennifer
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Post by katt on Oct 24, 2010 22:42:08 GMT -5
Haha Luckily for me Shane is just as in love with and concerned about Koda as I am. Everyone else can mind their own business. haha I posted a poop update. The lamb-rabbit-pumpkin mix is working GREAT! I forgot to mention as well, Nov 3rd he is going in to get baseline blood work, and maybe a microchip. We like to go on walks outside and if, goodness forbid, he slipped his harness I don't want to lose my million dollar baby! I have been wanting to get all of my critters chipped for a while, it is just a matter of getting around to it - time and money. Microchipping for ferrets is not very expensive though! I was surprised. I was quoted close to $50 for my iguana, but only like $25ish for Koda! Koda will get more lamb and rabbit tonight. If he still has good poops tomorrow, then should I try adding a little pork back in? Also, with what you said about allergies, should I start putting a tiny bit of chicken in like once week or so? I do NOT want him to become allergic to it, or more allergic to it, if he is not...?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Oct 24, 2010 23:33:42 GMT -5
I'd give him a week or so with the lamb/rabbit/mice. Let his system settle down. He ha just started on lamb/rabbit. let's see if we can get him through a week of decent poops.
The other things you'll be trying (reishi, slippery elm, ground flax seed etc) might help when re-introducing some of the other things Koda seemed to react to. A little ground flax is good non-soluble fiber. He may do poorly with it - or it may work very well. It's more like the stomach contents of whole prey, and it has omega 3's, etc. slippery elm will coat the stomach with a mucilage coating. The mucilage coating has anti-inflammatory properties along with a coating that helps good bacteria stick in the gut. The pancreatic enzymes may help pre-digest food, which will help reduce seedy poops and may reduce the green "bile poops". Reishi is a natural anti-histamine/anti-allergy immune health supplement with anti-cancer properties as well.
The key here will be to fortify Koda's system when he east some of the stuff that's a little more difficult for his system to handle. If Koda gets a stress flare, he'll probably have to go back to the foods he handles the best. When he's doing well, Koda can probably handle more variation in his diet - especially if we learn which supplements work best for Koda.
I will be traveling next week (tues thru. Mon. of the following week, but I should be online here and there to help with the supplements.
-jennifer
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Post by Heather on Oct 25, 2010 1:26:43 GMT -5
Just a thought. I found that ground flax seed and flax seed oil irritated Ghenghis (couple of the other guys too, who weren't ill) I'm not saying it affects everyone, but most of my furkids didn't tolerate flax in any format I had very good results with the slippery elm. I would switch it up with the pumpkin, unfortunately toward the end neither proved very effective though the pumpkin worked more often than the slippery elm. ciao
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Post by katt on Oct 25, 2010 2:42:23 GMT -5
Thanks guys. So should I maybe try the flax seed oil first (after his poops are "consistent") and see what it does?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Oct 25, 2010 8:57:57 GMT -5
My IBD boy never had issues with the ground flax seed, or the oil. That's the thing with IBD....it's so individual, so you have to try things to see what works. Slippery elm tends to work well across the board. The only issue with it is it does coat the stomach. Anything that coats the stomach affects absorption. One thing I'm hoping we can do is use the slippery elm along with some pro-biotics help repopulate the gut with the gut with good bacteria.
Once the poops are reasonably stable, add a pinch of the flax seed to his food. when you feed Koda something he has been eating for a few days. Never change two things at once. Try the flax seed for a 4-5 of days and see what happens. If the poops gets consistently worse, withdraw the flax seed and see if you see improvement. If it makes no difference, leave it in the diet. Of course, if Koda gets really bad poops , you can stop feeding it and try the slippery elm for a couple of days.
I've got my finders crossed that we can learn to brin Koda out of minor attacks by returning to his best-tolerated foods and slippery elm. If Koda can handle the coarsely ground flax seed, that would be something that's fed daily to help keep the bowel wall in good condition.
There's a lot of theory that a many inflammatory conditions result from something that's called "leaky gut syndrome". You may want to look up "leaky gut 4R's" for a naturopathic approach to restoring health to a whacked out gut. Again, what works best will be very individual.
-jennifer
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Post by katt on Oct 25, 2010 23:55:05 GMT -5
Hey quick question. Koda is still pooping fantastically. Since we seem to have found something that works for him, should I hold off on getting blood-work done for the pred? In other words, do you think it is OK if I hold off - and save the money - and just do it later if the need arises?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Oct 26, 2010 0:26:38 GMT -5
I think it's OK to wait. This will also allow Koda to avoid the stress of being poked and prodded at the vet's. Be sure to stash the cash for later in case he needs it so you won't have to worry about saving up again if Koda gets a bad attack that does not want to clear up.
You don't want the inflammation to persist because the longer it goes on, the harder it can be to get the system to settle back down. I'm hoping that Koda's case is just food allergy and if we find foods tat work for him, he'll be able to avoid issues.
-jennifer
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Post by katt on Oct 26, 2010 3:16:29 GMT -5
Ok and what about the lamb bone? I am pretty sure he can't chew it seeing as how my ulu knife, that normally obliterated bones, only scratched it. But the bones are wide enough that Koda could get the marrow out (like a foraging treat!) if he wanted. Can I give him the lamb bone, or should I worry about him potentially breaking his teeth?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Oct 26, 2010 7:44:29 GMT -5
Yes, you can give him lamb bone, but he should have one edible bone as well, which is why the ground diet are good (especially the large-boned animals)
There's always a possibility that Koda could break a tooth on a harder bone, (a tooth can get knocked and crack and break later) But in general, a ferret won't break a tooth on a bone because biting too hard on something does not feel good. You can alway watch him with the bones to see how he handles them.
Will Koda eat the antlers if you smear the marrow on them? The antlers are very porous and will hold the flavor well. a little antler one a week will all some minerals to his diet. About 1/4 antler slice per week would be good for him. My brats just crunch them down.
-jennifer
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Post by katt on Oct 26, 2010 17:42:02 GMT -5
Yes, you can give him lamb bone, but he should have one edible bone as well, which is why the ground diet are good (especially the large-boned animals) There's always a possibility that Koda could break a tooth on a harder bone, (a tooth can get knocked and crack and break later) But in general, a ferret won't break a tooth on a bone because biting too hard on something does not feel good. You can alway watch him with the bones to see how he handles them. Will Koda eat the antlers if you smear the marrow on them? The antlers are very porous and will hold the flavor well. a little antler one a week will all some minerals to his diet. About 1/4 antler slice per week would be good for him. My brats just crunch them down. -jennifer I saturated the antler with his favorite ferretvite and he still would not eat it.
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Post by Heather on Oct 26, 2010 20:06:04 GMT -5
None of my little ones would eat the antlers either . ciao
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