To Greg Hastings regarding Winky: You had mentioned that Winky
loves raisins, I believe this food could cause Winky to have
constipation problems. I know from personal experience that
dried fruit, nuts and cheese have caused me alot of problems.
It has been recommended that individuals with constipation
problems eat prunes, bran etc...Not me! It does the opposite.
So it could be that Winky has the same reaction to raisins,
since it has been said that ferrets have a short digestive
tract and too many raisins could cause distress. I would
suggest giving Winky treats that are higher in water
concentration. Some of my ferrets love baby food sweet
potatoes. Or something with less fiber as unsalted, unsweetened
puffed wheat or rice. It has the fiber that is needed for
movement but is less irritating than raisins. So I would continue
with the laxatone and eliminate the raisins to see how things
come out! Good luck.
 
To Troy Lynn concerning impacted anal gland: Hello fellow Kansan!
I'm over here in K.C.K. near the Missouri state line.
I had a similar problem with my two year old male ferret Teebone.
I purchased him from a pet store (this was before I knew about
the wonderful ferret shelter in K.C.Mo operated by a equally
wonderful person, Bobbi.) Anyway back to Teebone...he was
neutered and descented and only 6 weeks old. When he was
a year old he started to get lumps every other month in
the area of his anus. I was told that his descenting job was
incomplete and all that was given to me was antibiotics. I was
told that surgery was too risky. Well the pain and fever from
these eruptions were also risky, so I found a vet who had
experience with this sort of problem. He performed surgery
on Teebone for one gland and a couple months later the
other gland was removed. Teebone is doing great with no
more problems. It seems that to descent they do the job
by sticking a hot needle into the ducts to the gland
and destroy the tissue, duct and gland and this is done
at a very early age. Teebone's ducts were destroyed but
not his glands and every other month the fluid built up
and had no where to go. I am not suggesting you have this
done to Vixen since she is older and was never descented.
I would think the duct could be cleaned so that the fluid
would not build up. Possibly a infection has cause a blockage
and a dosage of a good antibiotic would help clear it, along
with warm compresses as you suggested. I have heard that
cats also suffer from impacted anal glands and I was
under the impression that the vet can clear up the problem
without surgery. Keep us posted!
 
In memory of Sable, Boo and Faucett: This has been a very sad
four months. I have lost three very wonderful ferrets.
They all were from the ferret shelter and they all had various
problems that labeled them "less likely to be adopted."
Boo was an albino male, skin and bones, rescued from a breeder
who kept him outside year round. He also had insulinoma and
kidney disease. He was with me for six months.
Sable and Faucett both came from the same owner.
Sable was an affectionate sable female who loved to give kisses.
She was also crippled and blind. I lost Sable to congestive
heart failure. I had noticed her rapid breathing pattern and
had the vet check her heart and lungs and he found no problems.
Two months later I found her lying in the middle of the floor
having difficulty breathing. When I picked her up she gave
me one quick kiss and went limp. I rushed her to the emergency
clinic and she was put on oxygen but they said it was too late.
Faucett also had similar problems and she was diagnosed with
a heart murmur and put on a diuretic for fluid elimination.
I then discovered she had renal failure and I had to make
another difficult decision last week to end her suffering.
In adopting ferrets with health problems I know I will have
to go through the sorrow of losing them. It has been taking
a toll on me. I feel that if I can make what little time
these animals have left, a happy and loving time and
try to give them the best medical care I can, then I
have a sense of satisfaction that at least I tried.
I have adopted another older ferret, Cane, who is
completely blind in one eye and partially blind in the
other. He is going to the vet Monday for a lump on his
nose. His age is unknown because Bobbi of the ferret
shelter rescued him and ten other ferrets from a house.
The owner had died at the house and authorities found
eleven unneutered male and unspayed female ferrets loose in the house,
with no records of health or age to be found concerning
the ferrets.
 
Well I certainly have rambled on enough, but I haven't written
in so long even though I read and keep every copy of the ferret list.
Good health to all ferrets and their owners!
 
                                    Judy and the five ferrets,
                                    Teebone, Weezul, Cane, Delilah
                                    and Fred.
 
[Posted in FML issue 0920]