Mary wrote:
>One of the things I learned up at the vets is that animal meds based on
>a human medication formula are always in much smaller doses for animals.
>Many of the meds are based on the animal's size and weight as well as the
>severity of each particular illness and the pet's history  ...
>
>Please do not self dose an animal without checking with your vet or
>another health care professional who knows animals.
 
Yes, and they can no safely metabolize some of the things we can (and
visa-versa), so some things that we can deal with just fine can kill a
ferret, a mustelid, a member of Carnivora, or whichever category.  It's
not only that levels of milligrams need adjusting, but some medications
of any type simply are poisonous to them.  ALWAYS check with your vet
first and ALWAYS let your vet know about anything you are giving -- any
meds or supplements of any type (which Mary said just a few days ago and
again in yesterday's FML, but it deserves repeating).  Granted, a lot of
this is an on-going learning process and references are incomplete, but
there are known documented dangers and it's always good to avoid those.
These precautions are true for over the counter meds, herbal meds,
prescriptions, supplements (for instance a person would not want to give
a supplement that has a strong anti-coagulant effect after abdominal
surgery due to a bleeding risk), etc.
 
Around 11 years ago I had major surgery and it took 6 weeks for the
incision to close .  During those 6 weeks the ferrets were absolutely
perfect for me.  They were their normal frolicking selves for Steve but
for me they were attentive, obedient, and as gentle as can be.  A human
year is like 10 for ferrets.  Can you imagine the self-discipline that
took them?
 
A long time ago Haleakala and I were on the balcony on a brisk and bright
day.  She was in a cage and sniffing the herbs as I tended them, when I
caught my hand on a sharp edge of a flowerpot and took a deep gouge which
bled profusely.  Since I could not risk her overheating I grabbed her
cage to bring her in so that I could tend to my wound, bleeding down the
side of the cage.  Hale stood there and screamed her lungs out.  She knew
that I was hurt and bleeding and it terrified her.
 
Speaking of herbs, one thing that Steve and I do for seniors and sick
ferrets to make life more interesting is that we make stink sacks by
putting culinary herbs in lunch size paper bags.  The ferrets love
those; they provide sort of a ferret art collection.
 
Hey, what funny things have ferrets learned from you?  What funny things
have they learned from each other?  What have they invented?
[Posted in FML issue 3923]