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Post by bitbyter on Dec 1, 2014 0:37:31 GMT -5
Go ahead and reserve some. Nothing specific yet as we have to see if you can get them to eat it.
How is Pearl doing?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2014 8:14:38 GMT -5
Great. I'll give the co op a call today and reserve some goat meat. Pearl is doing wonderfully. She is back to her wild little self. She is playing for a full two hours straight and full of energy while doing so. I'd say she is back to her normal self! Yay!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2014 11:46:37 GMT -5
The butcher is going to give me a call today and tell me more about the cuts of goat meat he is able to provide. I'll get an idea from him as to what day they will be receiving the goat. In the meantime, should I be locating other types of meat for our next introduction to a different type of protein? I wanted to post a picture of Smokey, our newbie, but I'm at work and the window that pops up to upload images is blocked here. I'll have to do it at home. He has a bit of a rat tail, but there is fur on it so I'm thinking it's just seasonal fur thinning and it will fill in. He looks like a little opossum baby. He was giving me lots of kisses the second day we had him and I noticed his breath was absolutely terrible. I looked at his teeth and they are basically black in the back I have an appointment made for him for Friday for this and also for a general check up. I'm not sure when he was vaccinated last, the previous family hasn't gotten back to me. I'll send another message to them asking this. Our vet's surgery day is Tuesdays so I'm planning on him having his teeth cleaned (and maybe some extractions? I can't tell but they are really bad.) on Tuesday.
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Post by bitbyter on Dec 3, 2014 19:46:54 GMT -5
Hopefully he won't need any extractions. As for the meat, lets stick with goat for now as we need to figure out if Pearl truly does have an issue with certain proteins.
Are they butchering the whole animal? If so, they might give you a deal on the organs (I'd get everything except the spleen and digestive tract) if they are willing.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2014 21:30:53 GMT -5
Ok, I can do that. Should I hold off on anything more than just a basic cut of meat right now though since we need to see if she reacts poorly to it? I was thinking I'd order like, a pound of a basic cut of meat. Is that what you're thinking and get organs later if she tolerates goat? Yes, they are bothering a whole animal and they told me I could get various organs.
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Post by bitbyter on Dec 4, 2014 22:22:39 GMT -5
Depending on your freezer space I'd get all the organs and maybe 2 pounds of meat since you have three ferrets now. Organs are always harder to find than muscle meat. Also, keep in mind since it is a new meat and they have been back on kibble we, may have to start right at the beginning again with soup / nose dabbing or scruff and stuff.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2014 22:24:15 GMT -5
Alright, whenever the goat meat comes in, I've gt my name on all organs, and two pounds of some sort of cut of meat. Update on Smokey: he went in to the vet's office today. I asked her (our regular vet was out, but we've seen her before and she seems knowledgable from what I can tell) to look at his penis bc it didn't seem right to me. It was not just like a small little opening, it was like a round ball, kind of looked like a hernia. I apologize i didn't get a picture. (I know you're probably really disappointed ) Well, she lanced it and squeezed it. Clear liquid and blood came out. The little ball shrunk and it looks normal now. But I have no idea what caused that or what it was and she didn't either. Any idea?? Also, he has a mass in his abdomen. He's going to have an ultrasound on Tuesday to help figure out what it is. And she thinks he will probably have to have most, or at least, a lot of his teeth removed. This is what neglect looks like over 6 years in a ferret. So incredibly sad, I don't even have the words for it. I'll weigh everyone tomorrow and post their weights. I'm hoping the goat meat will be in by mid week and we can get going on that!! I'm sorry for the hold up this has been. I'm not sure how normal this is in the process for people with mentors. But I appreciate you helping us out. I really do.
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Post by bitbyter on Dec 5, 2014 23:47:37 GMT -5
Poor smokey. Bad teeth can lead to other infections because so much of their immune system is dealing with the teeth. If you can, I would suggest a second opinion on his teeth (maybe see if their is a dental vet specialist in the area). I only suggest this because pulling a tooth is permanent. You want to save as many as possible.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2014 10:40:59 GMT -5
Actually, she and our regular vet are going to take a look at him together on Tuesday when he goes in for the ultrasound to look at his abdomen. So he will have two sets of eyes looking at him then. He will take a look at his teeth then too im sure. I'm not sure if there are any dental specialist vets in the area. Would the best way to find that out be just to ask a vet if there is such a thing around? They are pretty dang bad. I don't doubt that at least some of them have to go. He was some pretty noticeable gum recession too. Poor guy it's just so sad to me. I took him in for one visit and there were three noticable things that need attention. How hard would that have been for his family to do for him?? Such a shame. I'm going to have some frustration about that for a while, I'm pretty sure. On the positive side, he seems happy and is playful for short amounts of time. He snuggles with his girls and rolls them around when they're out of the cage. He is finally living the life he deserves.
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Post by bitbyter on Dec 6, 2014 11:11:19 GMT -5
Two sets of eyes are better than one. :thumbsup: That should be fine then. Just be clear that a tooth is borderline then try to save it. They may not be aware of how well a raw diet can clean up teeth (though depending on how bad they are it may be tough to get him chewing).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2014 11:56:53 GMT -5
Right, that's what I'm afraid of. It could be soupies for him forever But I guess that's not so bad. Soupies are yummy and he will know what he can handle and what he can't. Maybe he could at least do some chunks of softer meats. I hope there won't be choking hazards of he doesn't have some of his teeth. Well, I'm probably getting ahead of myself. It will probably take him a while to acclimate anyway. We will cross that bridge when we get there I suppose.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2014 17:41:28 GMT -5
I know this probably isn't as important until we are back on the switch but just to keep in the habit....
Updated Weight History: Pearl: 9/28 1 lb 9 oz 9/29 1 lb 8.3 oz 10/5 1 lb 7.4 oz 10/12 1 lb 11.4 oz 10/19 1 lb 10.2 oz 11/8 1 lb 1.2 oz 11/16 1 lb 11.4 oz **11/20 - first day back on kibble 11/23 1 lb 14.2 oz 11/29 1 lb 15.1 oz 12/7 1 lb 14.1 oz
Beatrix: 9/28 2 lb 8.5 oz 9/29 2 lb 6.4 oz 10/5 2 lb 5.4 oz 10/12 2 lb 3.6 oz 10/19 2 lb 3.8 oz 11/8 2 lb 3.8 oz 11/16 2 lb 4 oz **11/20 first day back on kibble 11/23 2 lb 7 oz 11/29 2 lb 4 oz 12/7 2 lb 2.7 oz
Smokey: (adopted on 11/29) 12/5 2 lb 2.3 oz 12/7 2 lb 3.9 oz
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Post by bitbyter on Dec 12, 2014 10:37:08 GMT -5
Any updates? How did Smokey's tooth appointment go?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2014 14:45:27 GMT -5
Smokey's appointment went well on Tuesday. We learned that the lump in his abdomen is a very enlarged spleen that is reacting to an overload of bacteria in his body, more than likely all the bacteria in his mouth bc of his bad teeth. His bloodwork came out good but did show a low glucose level. That will be rechecked this coming Tuesday when he goes in to have his teeth cleaned and take care of any extractions that are necessary. The vet thinks the low BG is showing us that he probably has insulinoma but assured me that it's a manageable thing. I've never had a ferret with insulinoma before but am happy to learn how to best care for him. So basically, I think it was as good of news as we could have possibly expected considering what we could have heard.
Everyone is still acting fine and getting along well. Im a little concerned that Pearl doesn't like Smokey very much bc when he tries to play with her, she's still hissing at him and not doing much to play back. I'm wondering if maybe she will react differently to him with time. I hope so. Or maybe if her feelings toward him will be different toward him when he's all "fixed up" and healthy after Tuesday. We had a very sick ferret once who was sick from the time we got him and the others cuddled him but didn't play with him. I think they saw him as a "weak link." Do you have any thoughts on that?
As far as goat meat, I've been calling the co op every couple of days. They are supposed to call me when they get the goat in but just in case, im calling them too. When I talked to someone there yesterday, they said they thought t might take until next weekend to get the goat! They told me that it would probably be this week. So I'm feeling discouraged about that and feeling bad im taking up a spot on the mentor program. Have you run into this before? Is it ok if I just keep waiting? Please tell me if you need to put me on the waitlist again. I want to get going with it as soon as possible with it but I'm feeling a little guilty that the process is being held up.
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Post by bitbyter on Dec 13, 2014 15:06:15 GMT -5
No need to feel guilty. Switches take as long as they take.
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