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Post by Desiree on Jan 15, 2015 9:39:31 GMT -5
How young/old is good age? I assumed they would have been a good age to be weaned if they were selling them. I was obviously wrong. I'm glad he ended up with me too though. He did so well on the trip!! We got him home and I thawed some raw soup and he ate it right away. He was not happy about no snuggles for bed time like he got to do in the car but we cuddled this morning for a little while. How long should I wait to introduce him to the older ferts? Is there a certain time to wait for any sickness to show? He's super small so I'm worried about them being to rough as well. Any tips on the introductions are also welcome. And have a cute picture!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 12:53:57 GMT -5
What a little sweetie. He is so young, but he's in good hands with you. Congratulations on your new baby. I'm so glad that he is at home with you and not alone in a pet store. Mika was only about six weeks when we brought her home. She stayed near me most of the time and Juliet mothered her. We had to keep Roamy away from her though. I knew that something was off with Roamy and his behavior towards her. She was fiesty and fierce and I let him see her. He got overexcited and seemed to be hunting her. I put her down and he immediately went for her neck and tried to shake her, while his tail got very big. She went into a cage at night and I kept everything very low and put alot of blankets for her to snuggle in. She would meep or cry at night and I would get up and comfort her. Then she would go back to sleep. We had to wait two months for her to grow up before Roamy was allowed contact with her. But, she had Juliet as her fur mom and me as her skin mom. Then we started letting Roamy see her in the morning and at night. I wouldn't let him touch her though. Our breakthru came around Halloween. I brought home a large pumpkin and we put the three of them in a room. Everyone was interested in the pumpkin and he just ignore Mika. She jumped him once or twice to play, and he grabbed her and dragged her across the room. She was submissive, Juliet watched out over them and then everything was fine. Now, she treats him like a dad and he plays gently with her. I put Mika right on raw. I was a very proud ferrent, thinking that she was eating a whole chicken wing. Then I found out that Roamy was stealing it at night. So, we reinforced the cage. She did fine with a mixture of FDR and raw. Then when I went thru my official switch and the Mentoring process, she became my laziest bone eater. She's a princess and knows it. A pet store baby ferret can carry a bug called ECE or green slime disease. It's best to keep Riot and Rebel separated for a week or two. If they've already been exposed, then just keep an eye out and see if someone starts having green poop or sleeps alot. Mika gave it to Roamy, but she never really got close to him. She didn't give it to Juliet and spent time with her. I would try your first intro with Rebel. Hopefully, she will mother the baby and teach him his social skills and be of comfort to him. What's his name? Have fun and we will certainly need more pictures of such a little cutie pie.
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Post by katt on Jan 15, 2015 12:57:18 GMT -5
They should not be taken from momma fert until 10-12 weeks. Most kits from mills are removed at about 4-7 weeks, given a few days to heal if they are lucky, and run through the neutering line and shipped to stores by 8-9 weeks. (This is often one of multiple reasons contributing to why we see some behavior issues in some ferrets. Mamma ferret would normally teach them how to use the litter box and not to bite too hard, they often aren't fully weaned so you get ferrets that suckle on their blankets and often become bedding chewers, etc etc.)
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Post by katt on Jan 15, 2015 13:00:22 GMT -5
I suspect that whether or not ferrets get ECE from incoming babies has a lot to do with whether they were exposed to it themselves as kits and essentially "inoculated/vaccinated" by exposure, and whether they still have a decent antibody titer against it at the time of re-exposure. It would be interesting to see studied.
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Post by Desiree on Jan 16, 2015 11:18:32 GMT -5
We named him Tundra. Takes me a while to name anything really and it's a group decision in my household.
Oh man, so any mill ferret is always to young. Poor babes.
He is eating raw like a champ. Currently sitting in my lap chowing down on some quail small bones and all. He is averaging about 6 ozs a day more than half his body weight.
How is ECE transferred? Would Tundra show any symptoms? After two weeks is the chance lessened that he has it or is there still a possibility he will spread it? He has not been anywhere close to where Rebel and Riot roam around but I do handle him and he spends a lot of time in my lap. I just want to make sure all of my babies are safe.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2015 13:41:42 GMT -5
Tundra is a very cute name. He will probably continue to eat quite alot for awhile. gfountain can tell you about her Minnie the Menace, who ate anything and everything she was given. Tundra wouldn't show any signs, he would be the carrier. I'm not sure how it is spread, but like I mentioned, Roamy started showing signs of it a few weeks after Mika came home. He wasn't around her, but Juliet was and didn't catch it. We were also working on a switch and the vet wasn't sure if it was a bacterial overgrowth or ECE. Given the green poop, I was pretty sure it was ECE. A simple course of antibiotics cleared it up. Here is a link for you: www.upstateamc.com/Ferret_ECE_Disease.html
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Post by Desiree on Jan 17, 2015 13:58:42 GMT -5
Well poop, the site says that I can carry it on my clothes and hands. Which probably means they have been exposed. Dang it. I didn't think about that. More poop patrol for me! I'm hoping they will be fine. I don't want to have to have them on another round of antibiotics. Rebel had her ten days in the beginning of December and Riot finished his just after that. They both need vet appointments anyway, Riot needs another lupron shot and Rebel needs her BG checked and probably a lupron shot too (noticed her vulva is swollen). Might as well take Tundra in for a check up too. I might just ask the vet for antibiotics in case if they don't show any symptoms yet.
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Post by katt on Jan 18, 2015 23:01:40 GMT -5
Tundra is a great name!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2015 11:24:31 GMT -5
Tundra is a great name! Spoken like a true Alaska girl. I love the name too. (dance)
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Post by unclejoe on Jan 19, 2015 13:05:17 GMT -5
I like the name too. He's just adorable.
ECE is a virus, It can be shed in feces for 6 months. Antibiotics are only useful for treating secondary infections, and do not work directly against viruses. By the time a ferret shows signs, the others in the group have already been exposed. But treating the secondary infections aggressively will usually get them through it.
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Post by Desiree on Jan 20, 2015 1:29:11 GMT -5
I saw that too. I can't keep them separated for 6 months unfortunately. If they contract it, I will get them on antibiotics asap. It's crazy that this disease has no cure and no known cause. Would it be okay to give them antibiotics to help strengthen their immune responses now or would it not matter until one of them contracts it if they do?
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Post by unclejoe on Jan 20, 2015 7:06:19 GMT -5
You dont want to give antibiotics unless they need it. They arent specific and will also kill gut flora.
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Post by Heather on Jan 20, 2015 13:31:02 GMT -5
Some ferrets, Marshals farm ferrets in particular have been known to have a higher resistance to the ECE virus. It was rumoured at one point that Marshals actually had an outbreak in their farm and that many of the kits were now carriers also granting them a certain "immunity" as well. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2015 14:25:26 GMT -5
Symptoms of ECE includes neon colored green watery diarrhea with an abundant amount of mucous containing a very foul fish odor. This is according to Ferret Universe
I would not worry about ece just because a poop is green
The normal brown color seen in feces is the end product of break down of old red blood cells. The pigment goes through a green stage called biliverdin before it becomes brown (called stercobilin). So if it goes through at an accelerated rate, it never breaks down all the way and has a green color to it. Anything that accelerates passage of food or causes diarrhea can result in green color — ECE, rapid food changes, lymphoma, just about anything by Bruce Williams DVM
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Post by katt on Jan 20, 2015 16:49:08 GMT -5
An antibiotic won't do much for a virus anyways. It's more to help with bacterial overgrowth that can occur when ECE and diarrhea throws their gut balance off and enables other buggies to take over.
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