I had an upsetting New Year's Day!  Seems that Pepper had eaten a piece of
my 3-D castle puzzle I got for Christmas (I *thought* I was being careful,
but I guess I wasn't careful enough) and early New Year's Day threw up all
*over* his 4'x3'x3' cage.  I figured it was either a virus (lots of stomach
flu going around) or a blockage.  I gave him some mineral oil after he'd
held down the water I force fed him.  Later that day he passed a 1/4" square
piece of the puzzle (it was one of those "throwaway" pieces if you've ever
done one of these).  He wouldn't eat or drink.  I force fed him water but
let him go regarding the food.  He's a big, strong boy and he wouldn't
starve in one day.
 
It seems nothing happens to my ferrets unless my vet is out of town or it's
a national holiday!  Well this time, it was both.  I took him in to my vet
Friday morning.  My vet happens to be a friend, too, so I left word on her
answering machine at home.
 
He wasn't feeling so great, but hadn't thrown up or stopped pooping.  She
examined him and couldn't feel anything but suggested an x-ray.  On the
x-ray, there showed up something that looked like either a tumor or a
blockage.  It was about the size of a large jelly bean and up near his
stomach.  I okayed surgery and she did it that same day around 5pm.
 
She found some really weird stuff in there.  The jelly bean-sized shadow was
from *scar tissue* in his spleen from where it had burst or been cut
(?!?!!?) in the past.  I've had this ferret since he was 6 weeks old, and I
don't remember anything serious happening to him!  She found no blockage --
there was some little pieces of foam in his intestine, but nothing that he
couldn't pass himself.  She also found a really weird thing attached to his
intestine by some strands of tissue that looked like encapsulated poop!  She
was worried about that.  No way should poop be *outside* the intestines!
 
More interesting, she found his right adrenal to be enlarged and hard, so
she took that out.  Seems it was just a fortuitous accident -- his adrenal
was going bad but he had no symptoms.  I had been watching him, though, as
he was getting awfully frisky with the girls for an early neuter!
 
She sent the adrenal and the unidentified blob to Dr. Williams, so we'll
know soon what he thinks it is.
 
I've never had a ferret with major surgery before.  It was hard watching
him be in pain.  I brought him home Saturday and as soon as he was in his
cage he had a mouthful of food and drank some water.  He was obviously
uncomfortable.  He scratched at his litterbox, snorkled in the pine pellet
litter, constantly changed position, dug at his blankets, etc.  His little
tummy was all swollen, but the stitches looked fine and nothing seemed
amiss.  I got him to eat about 1/4 cup of Ensure w/extra protein and 1/2
jar of chicken babyfood.  Sunday he ate 1-1/2 jars of babyfood and the rest
of the can of Ensure.  Yesterday while I was at work, he ate and drank on
his own.  I'd had to give him 10cc of ringers under the skin once on
Saturday and twice on Sunday, but when I came home from work yesterday, he
was no longer dehydrated.
 
Last night he felt well enough to try to escape the cage and go out with the
other guys.  Of course I didn't let him.  He's 1/2 flying squirrel, I think,
and to my *horror* he jumped off the diningroom table Sunday evening while I
was trying to inject him with the water!  God.  He didn't pop any stitches
outside, and seemed perfectly fine last night, so I guess he didn't hurt
anything.  Scared *me* half to death, though!  I'm going to have to call the
vet back and ask when he's allowed out to play ... this morning he almost
seemed back to his old self!
 
I'd heard how ferrets recover from surgery, but I'd never seen it.  He was
very uncomfortable and swollen the first two days but by the third day he
was *lots* better.  I've been suffering from the guilts for having left that
darned puzzle piece on the floor, but I guess it all turned out okay --
maybe we caught the adrenal before it was cancerous.  He's my favorite
ferret -- he's the one I let my 3 year old granddaughter hold, he's the one
I take when I go out in public for events.  He's the one who learned to jump
the gates (he even could get over the 26" high piece of plexiglass I put
up!).  He empties my garbage cans and steals the toilet paper.  He's the one
who gave my vet kisses all over her face while she was examining him.
 
Anyway, that's how I started my New Year. Pepper is okay and I'm a
little poorer (it all cost about $450) but I think we'll all be fine. :)
 
--Barb--
 
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Barbara Carlson                   Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA
[log in to unmask]           Work: (412) 268-1342 Home: (412) 481-5927
 http://www.gsia.cmu.edu/andrew/bcarlson/home.html (under construction)
Thought for the day:
    If "boring women have immaculate homes," I must be very interesting!
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[Posted in FML issue 2179]