OK, so she isn't in labor yet! LOL! But I will give you the long story
with all of my questions.
1. I am not a breeder, just a backyard small animal rescue worker.
2. I know nothing about intact ferrets, except that DANG! The boys are
big! :0 LOL!
A friend of mine got a call from a stranger who got her number from a
ferret club flyer we put up. The man said he was desperate to find a home
for his 4 intact ferrets. She has 10, I have 6 and she is on her way out
of town for two weeks, she says hang on, I have a friend who might be able
to help. Stupid me with the sucker sign on my face, says yeah, it can't be
too expensive to get them all fixed and maybe adopted out. Two hours later
(I'm at work) I call her back in a free moment and get their ages, 8 yrs,
7 yrs, 4 yrs, and 3 yrs. Oh joy! More senior ferrets. I don't have any
time right then and I left half a dozen projects unfinished and in the
middle of the floor at home (literally) and my hubby is going to be ticked!
So we tell him we will see him in the morning.
After a nice morning chatting with each other and anticipation building,
and nerves getting a fine work out (over their ages) we head over to his
place.
Long story short (too late! I know!)
1. One jill is nursing 4 kits.
2. One jill expecting any minute now.
3. The intact males have been housed together and apparently fight quite
often.
4. The albino male is missing an ear
5. The sable male looks as if one ear has "cauliflowered?"
6. They have biting lice.
7. They have a bad wheeze.
8. To control the lice he has been coating them with cedar oil and tea tree
oil, (separately, at different times.)
9. Momma with babies is a real "bit--", and I have the lacerations to prove
it. (I had to clean her up, and get her into a new cage and give her
meds for the lice!"
10. Other Momma to be is really sweet. And both males are really sweet.
OK, those are the facts, (so far). These are my questions:
1. How to tell when a jill goes into labor?
2. He says she has had 3 litters before and never had a problem, when to
decide if there is a problem?
3. OK, I go to the vet if there is a problem, what should she be doing?
4. What kind of anesthetic is good for ferrets?
5. He has been feeding them Purina kitten chow, when can I change these
moms over to my stuff? Can I do it now? Can I add ferretvite to the
kitten chow? What about ferretone?
6. Ok, my vet thinks the wheezing may be due to the cedar oil, she thinks
it will go away by itself, if it doesn't go away by "when" should we
start on antibiotics?
7. Is Tea Tree oil just as bad as cedar when it comes to toxicity? Cause
it sure smells like it is!
8. Why the heck does their poop smell so bad? from licking the oils? OMG!
One poop can be smelled from one end of the house to the other!
9. Ok, last but not least, does anyone think that after her kits are
weaned and she is fixed, will the momma be nicer? I had a rescue that
was way meaner, way bigger and bit way harder, (still have scars a year
later!) and he turned out to be a sweetie! But I'm not sure I'm up to
the band aid thing again. I am so stressed.
10. OOPS! I almost forgot about their teeth. We checked and some of their
canines are black. They feel smooth, not like tarter build up, but as
if they were "dead". Can that be possible? What can I do about it?
And its the "OLD" guys whose teeth are so bad, the two younger ones
are in better condition.
These guys are all separate from my guys. They were born and raised
outside, so the males are outside right now, and the females are in a
back room. Everyone is now in a separate cage. With their own bedding,
litterbox, water bottle and food. I didn't even get to cuddle my own guys
yesterday because I was afraid of the lice. But my vet gave me meds for
that and in another day they shouldn't be a problem any more.
OK, again, last but not least, if Bill needs to edit this please do so,
but keep in mind I need all those questions answered, (I tend to be long
winded!)
Thank you,
Sharon
[Posted in FML issue 3415]
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