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From:
sukie crandall <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 18 Nov 2003 14:03:44 -0500
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Gary wrote:
>I was thinking of using a slinky as a bumper.  Maybe one of the plastic
>ones would work (and look goofy as all get out! :o).  They use them on
>large buildings to keep pigeons from roosting in windows.
 
Couldn't you just see the ferrets grabbing them, stretching them out
and then letting go?  Moving around would having its own theme music:
stretching hum, twang, then thump, hum, twang, thump, hum, twang, thump.
Actually I guess with the plastic ones it would be less plucked string
and more rattle plus drum: rattle, twang, thump.
 
Thanks, Gary.  :-)
 
Delta, I don't know much about diabetes in ferrets, but I DO know that
there is a LOT on the topic in the Archives of the Ferret Health List at
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org.  Off hand, I know that there are great posts
by assorted vets (look in the your left hand column when you search on
diabetes for names or addies of vets including but not limited to Doctors
Bruce Williams,Ruth Heller, Jerry Murray, Karen Purcell (Dr. Karen),
Karin in Brasil whose surname escapes me, Dr. Sue, etc.  and I know there
are some truly fine diabetes management posts by non-vets, too.  Off
hand, I can think of Patty at Kazpat, Pam Sessoms, and I know there are
definitely others, but I'm going off-the-cuff for recollections.
 
Pam Sessoms also has a fine site on home testing at
http://www.unc.edu/~pjdutche/bloodsugar/
 
Val, it is not possible to say exactly what causes hind leg weakness
because ANYTHING which impacts too greatly on the ferret will do that.
 
I am concerned about the bout of tarry black stools.  That indicates
upper GI tract bleeding with digested blood.  That is has been
intermittent may indicate an ulcer which her body it trying to heal,
but if this were one of our ferrets I'd also think in terms of other
possible causes, especially a possible shifting blockage such as a
large furball in the stomach.  These require surgery if present.
 
Prednisone can at times worsen an ulcer.  Do you know why that med combo
is being tried despite the black stools?  Does the vet know black stools
occured?  Was it only one bout?  (There could be good reasons to give
those meds, depending on what the vet found, since the steroid will
reduce inflammation and the antibiotics fight bacterial infection, but
I am unclear on the particulars here.) You make no mention of Carafate.
We like to use the liquid prep (prescription) which is available at any
pharmacy: easy to give, they don't mind it, and it works rapidly.  What
tests have been done?  X-ray?  CBC with Chemistry Panel?  More?  (When
tests are done remember that a large furball in the stomach can also
irritate the liver, the pancreas, or both and throw off those values
till it is corrected.
 
Meanwhile to perk up her spirits read in the archives of the FML (URL in
the header of every day's digest) and the FHL about things like pantyhose
slings for some daily "outtings" around the house if she takes to the
sling.  These are easily made, last for ages, cost almost nothing, and
most ferrets take to them (though sometimes if there is GI pain or bad
abdominal ascites they will be rejected).  There is homemade wheelchair
info in both places, too.
 
You need to find out the root cause here, so test, and test more, and
consider the possibilities which can cause tarry stools.
 
Rita, if she has been on baby food and cream for too long a while
remember that she is not getting balanced nutrition (which is why such
foods are short term) and think about adding some crushed ferret food to
the mix.  I suggest reading up on the nuances of baby food feeding at the
same site which has the single best ECE info (something else for which
you suggest a possible need):
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
 
ECE occurs after an exposure to the virus and I hate to tell you this,
but when it went through our ferrets our worst hit one was severely ill
for three months.  Despite daily sub-cu hydration he took kidney damage
so after the fact we all wished that IV had been used, but it just
wasn't possible to know at the time that the sub-cu wasn't enough for
him.  (Also, remember that if it is ECE no viral shedding ferret (and
preferably not you, either) should interact with unexposed ferrets for a
great many months after.  See the write up at the AFIP site about this
long viral shedding period.)
 
Dehydration itself decreases the desire to eat.  It makes the nasal
membranes too dry to recognize food.  The combination of rehydration
plus food which warmed well enough to be easily smelled, along with a
lot of patient finger feeding can often work wonders.  You'll find a
lot on feeding sick ferrets in the archives of both the FML and the
FHL, and I can not emphasize enough how important hydration is.
 
Sukie (I am not a vet.)
[Posted in FML issue 4336]

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