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Post by weloveourweasels on Jul 29, 2008 1:19:18 GMT -5
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Post by josiesmom on Jul 29, 2008 8:06:19 GMT -5
OK, Take deep calm breathes, Distemper is also accompanied by fever, goopy runny nose and eyes. Usually a very thick discharge, crusty scabby chin is common in ferrets.
Its the PADS of the feet that will thicken, and by then you'll see the other symptoms too.
If he's had diarhhea for this long( 2 weeks) it could be that his hind feet have been stepping in the poo and are either coated with poop or slightly "burned" by the poop.
Wash his hind feet gently in warm water with a mild soap to see if the thickening washes off.
I gather he's a new addition? Its likely he's got a stomach or intestinal bug from his previous home that will need antibiotics to clear up.
If he came from a pet store he's had to have had at LEAST one distemper vaccination as a kit, so it isn't likely ( not impossible, but NOT likely) that he has distemper.
Has Loki shown any change in his stools? Intestinal bacteria are very easily transferred between ferrets. You may want Loki tested too.
Good luck at the vets! Keep us posted! Cheers, Kim
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jul 29, 2008 8:10:42 GMT -5
Hi,, this actually does not sound like distemper. Distemper would be showing neurological signs by now (seizures) , and the primary symptoms are nasal discharge, crusty skin around the mouth, nose, eyes, etc. I think Mr. Bean would be a mes by now if he had distemper.
Is the floor of your cage a wire mesh? Mr. Bean may be developing callouses from the cage floor. Your girls are probably lighter on their feet tham Mr. Bean since he's probably bigger as a boy.
I also had a ferret that got a couple of scaly-like growths on a couple of his toes.We had them removed since we we figured that anything that groes on a ferret is best dealt with when it's smaller.
Oter than the toes, does Mr. Bean show any other signs? How are hi eyes doing? -jennifer
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Post by weloveourweasels on Jul 29, 2008 21:53:28 GMT -5
Maye he did burn his pads does from stepping in the poop. I mean its not horrible runny watery diarrhea is just soft piles. But not good poop by any means. His left eye looks a little deformed to me like the line of his eye wasn't formed right. He still has a very TINY bit of discharge from that eye but nothing major to where I have to wipe it out anymore. The right eye has no discharge. I am thinking he may just have a few abnormalities like his deafness and hopefully his ducts are still developing. I'm not sure if its just me or not but his eyes look a little smaller than the girls. I have heard of a thing in ferrets called tiny eyes so I don't know. No their cage is by no means wire. They are extremely spoiled and have a custom ferret nation bedding set so not even the wires from the ramp are exposed. You can see that here. holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=cage&action=display&thread=767I will wash his back feet when he wakes up and see what happens. He does get some poop on his feet sometimes when he goes potty. He is far less graceful about it then the girls. He doesn't seem to mind getting them messy. The girls on the other hand different story. Maybe their kibble has spoiled and that is causing the poop problem or maybe he is just still sensitive to the food change. Rolo had bad poops for awhile when we first got her. The other 2 however their poop looks fine. His is nearly the same color as the feline pine litter when wet. But I know he hasn't eaten any of it so thats not it. I'll know for sure what it is in 6 days. The appointment is at 11 AM on the 4th. I will post poo pics later tonight. My b/f is shaving right now but technicaly he is still on the CPU he just has his world of warcraft on pause.
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Post by weloveourweasels on Jul 30, 2008 5:04:26 GMT -5
Ok so I am hoping like mad the paw pad thing is just something else. They look like old ferret feet. I have never seen old ferret feet but My cat has pads like this and she is an outdoor cat she is is about 10 years old too. I have no clue. His poop is better too?!?! Check out these pix. They are from the past 24 hours. The top poop is Mr. Beans Bottom poop Mr. Beans Mr. Beans the litter box is dirty I'm not going in there carpet poop It is one of the best poops I have seen from him in awhile. Only 5 more days until I find out for certain.
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jul 30, 2008 8:39:35 GMT -5
I've read hat some Ferrets have have allergies to the pine littler.....this could be affecting both the eyes and the feet. The back feet can get in the wet, crumbled pellets, and this could be irritating his feet too.
I tried the pine, but my girls get irritaited from it. They squat so low in the pan ,and they wipe as they get aout of the box (and oh yes, onthe carpet too!) Their wiping area" gets red/irriated looking with the pine pellets. ANd their feet looked reddder too. My one boy was also licking and chewing on his feet withthe pine litter.
Mr Bean could be sensitive to the pine. He may be shoving his nose/face through the little box. And his feet in the box (especially the hind feet where the pine gets wet) might be getting "burned".
-jennifer
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Post by aleronferrets on Jul 30, 2008 8:53:20 GMT -5
This doesn't sound in any way like distemper. Have you read up on distemper at all?
As was mentioned, he may be having a reaction to the pine litter. Try switching to Yesterday's News. As for the bad poop, if he is getting better and eating/drinking alright I would not worry about it.
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Post by weloveourweasels on Jul 30, 2008 15:53:48 GMT -5
The feet thing is why it sounds like distemper to me. Maybe he is sensitive to the pine. I am going to change the litter today I ran out of the feline pine last week thank goodness. I have a whole bag of yesterdays news waiting on me. I put organic chapstick on his feet and it didn't help. I think I may try rubbing olive oil on there. Also he is my good boy Jennifer he doesn't nose around in the litter. Rolo is the only one who does it. I would think if it was distemper that ALL of his feet would be affected right Since its't only his back ones that is probably the problem. NO MORE FELINE PINE FOR ME!!!
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jul 30, 2008 23:09:39 GMT -5
It very well could be pine pellets even if Mr. Bean is not "snorkling' in the potty box. A lot of people use the pine litter. It smells nicer. But when I saw my boy chewing on his feet an licking them constantly - and the girls had redness around thier little fat pads in the groin area and also their bums, I decided the new pellets worked better fo me. Distemper usually his the eyes/nose/chin/mouth area before it gets to the feet. And it would not be hitting the back feet only. The back feet get more weight put on them, and they go in the soiled part of the litter box. I have seen A LOT of distemper fmy involvement with wildlife rehabilitaion - raccoons get distemper all the time, o I've seenbeginning middle an late stages of the disease. And Mr. Bean just doesn't show the right symptoms - plus, by now, Mr. Bean would be running a very high fever - and that usually happens pretty early on in distemper. I honestly think Mr. bean is Ok Hugs and kisses toMr. Bean, Rolo, and Loki -jennifer
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