>When a ferret gets hind leg weakness from disease (Insulinoma, Lymphoma,
>etc), is there any type of therapy that can be done with them at home
>to help them strengthen their legs or help slow down the debilitating
>process?
 
Yes, quite a lot, actually.  You can do range of motion exercises,
strengthening exercises, massage, etc.  In very bad or cramping
situations you can even do a lot of it in a warm bath to help with
floating and heat.
 
Loosen up the limb with massage, then gently work it through the range of
motion.
 
Make a pantyhose sling for those who are very limited.  These were first
invented for ferret use (for one of our ferrets, actually a great many
years ago which is why they are in so very many archives) by one of the
people at Doggon (spelling?) a pet mobility cart maker.  We refined the
design through use.  Select the pantyhose size for the person's height.
Choose different color pantyhose for different people if there are
different heights.  Then no one will get a sore back from bending.  Sew
the feet together to make a hammock for the ferret's belly.  Roll the
panythose top and sew it into a handle.  Bingo you are set to nestle the
the ferret in the hammock part, provide a little lift and take off.
 
For lateral stability use tricks that involve those muscles: having
the ferret ride on your back as you walk on hands and knees through
the house, putting treats on something high that the ferret has to
stand up to reach, etc.
 
>Do ferrets normally drink milk?  Our ferret has never been big on people
 
Depends on the ferret.  Some get diarrhea from it, some don't.  Some
tolerate small amounts only.  Some who don't tolerate milk cope fine with
heavy cream but not all can deal with cream, either.  Just shape what you
do to how well the ferret's GI tract tolerates it and all will be fine.
If one tolerates it but a different one doesn't then use other treats
for the one who doesn't cope.  In 24 years with ferrets from a range of
sources I can tell you that almost all of them cope fine with some yogurt
with active cultures in the diet and that can even be useful for some.
 
Vomiting: William, has there been exploratory surgery to look for a
non-imaging partial blockage?  Those are usually in the stomach and can
often be furballs though there are other possible causes including
foreign bodies, cloth, etc..  BTW, if the stomach irritation gets bad
enough that can throw up the numbers for liver and sometimes even
pancreas when CBCs with Chemistry Panels are done, and having it grate
against the stomach can set the stage for ulceration, ready infection and
splenic enlargement.  (BTW, if your ferret is a bed-snacker remove all
fake sheep-fleece beds or cover that fabric with cloth (ditto some fake
furs which shed a lot, but polar fleece is not prone to much shedding so
appears to be very safe.  There have been several reports of ferrets who
had that fake sheep-fleece creating fake "furballs"; one of them was one
of our guys.  Oh, and covering that material with sheeting not only
stopped a recurrance but it has made those beds last far longer than
normal and it has made them easier to launder.)
 
-- Sukie
See anyone you know from the FML?
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/gear/entertainment/2005-01-31-ipod_x.htm
[Front page, I hear!  BIG]
(BTW, you will also find someone you have heard about, my hubby, Steve.
Although it isn't in the article Steve is one of the people who first
realized that this market would exist in what was then the future so
while with AT&T Research he was the co-inventor of multiple patented
approaches which ultimately joined to lead to things like ipods, he
also was one of those who convinced key people of the importance in the
future of this approach, and that group of people even had a site called
Digitalphone -- which some people here may remember -- which first tested
multiple aspects of the one song and site approaches seen today.  These
days Steve is here:
http://www.omenti.com/
and you can find technical info in that part of his blog including:
http://tingilinde.typepad.com/starstuff/digital_music/index.html  )
[Posted in FML issue 4776]