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Post by RedSky on Mar 18, 2015 15:26:03 GMT -5
Update: Links to videos of Mako's walk added on page 3. Vet thinks most likely to be trauma and is treating with steroids and cage rest for a week to see if he recovers at all.
I posted about Mako on Bolin's vet thread but figured I would probably do better to give him his own.
Last Thursday his play time was a little late, I let him out but didn't watch him properly as he left the cage. I noticed him come down the ladder and went to get them some fresh water. When I came back he was walking towards me dragging his back end. His back legs were moving and he was pushing with them but he was leaning on one hip so they were sort of sticking out the other side of him as he moved along the floor. He didn't seem bothered at all but I was too busy panicking to think about anything other than getting him to the vet.
It's about 30 minutes drive to our vet and he slept in the car. By the time we got there he was moving better.
Since then his back end just sort of goes, it's a gradual thing as he plays. It's usually when he starts leaping around war dancing or chasing us around and his legs sort of go jelly like, splaying outwards and his back end gets closer and closer to the floor. He can still move them, can still sort of war dance (about as well as he normally does I suppose, is it supposed to be a 50:50 as to whether they land on their feet or not every time they jump?) and when we pick him up he wants back down and he can kick and push with them enough to make it hard to hold onto him (this is when he's pretty giddy).
It doesn't matter if he's just eaten or eaten hours ago or anything in between.
We took him back for a check up on Saturday and the vet said his gait was still odd so to keep going with the painkillers and no levels/ramps/things he can fall off. But to us his walk is the usual Mako walk. He is a little odd.
I did think he used to stare of into space but I think he's watching stuff, often he will just stand and stare at the top of the board blocking the stairs or stare at one of us, he looks right into your eyes. He is generally a little odd, never plays with the other ferrets (it's rare the other two play with each other but it does happen), loves us and follows us around like a little puppy. I'm not sure if he's deaf or just has selective hearing! He also mouths us, usually not too hard but will hold on and try to stash us. I take it as a compliment but it can be painful when he's trying to pull you under the bed or worse, into a tunnel. He does little odd stuff, but having never had a ferret before and Bolin being very lazy and Korra being a she-demon (said with love of course) I don't know what's odd and what's a ferret being a ferret.
Oh and everytime we stroke him or try to pick him up he rolls onto his back and starts batting us with his paws and mouthing very gently, especially if we touch his lower back. Other than this I don't see anything I could class as signs of pain.
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Post by Heather on Mar 18, 2015 15:58:00 GMT -5
What's his BG?
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2015 21:31:34 GMT -5
Any chance he is a wardy or had a back injury that acts up when he is active? My wardy always walked a bit off, but I was relieved when the vet found his new inability to walk was a back injury. It took a long time to heal, but he is up and about again.
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Post by RedSky on Mar 19, 2015 7:24:07 GMT -5
Thank you both for your responses. Heather I can't get a big enough drop of blood for the meter to read, the pin thing that came with it didn't produce any at all on his tail or paws so I tried using an actual needle (medical not sewing) but even with the that the meter says it's not enough. I will keep trying. @jadepuppy I'm not sure we get many waardies over in the UK, I wouldn't even know how to tell really. I will get some pictures of his face when he wakes up. I'll also try to get a video of him next time he starts dragging his back end, I've got a short one but it's really dark and the wrong angle. It's about time I set up a Youtube account. |
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Post by Blue on Mar 19, 2015 8:08:28 GMT -5
You could cut one of his nails to the quick (wince). It can bleed a lot so be sure to have styptic powder or whatever to clot it, and hold his paw long enough for it to take. (Can you tell that I accidentally cut one of Maisie's nails to the quick? Blood everywhere  ) |
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Post by RedSky on Mar 19, 2015 10:46:01 GMT -5
That sounds like it would be painful for him, not just the initial cut either, wouldn't it hurt as he walks around and couldn't it get infected. I'd rather not do that unless it is really really necessary.
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Post by RedSky on Mar 26, 2015 21:26:57 GMT -5
I can't sleep and have got onto ferret videos on youtube as well as watching some on this site.
I noticed when I brought my ferrets home they weren't as agile as the ones in the videos and I read that it takes time for these things to improve, just like with people. Fair enough.
Korra is as far as I can tell a normal ferret in these areas now. She moves around her cage so quickly and easily, she's more like a monkey.
Bolin has just had surgery (2 weeks ago) but is clumsy and sort of throws himself, he is improving especially now. He's running around, pulling himself into boxes and getting there. I'm holding out hope.
Mako however, is beyond clumsy. He falls all the time. He falls off the shelves in the cage, he falls out of the cage, he falls off the bed, heck he falls out of the wardrobe. Seriously Mako it's like 4 inches. He falls when he's walking sometimes too, tripping up over nothing and hardly ever lands a bounce while war dancing. I no longer let him walk up or down the stairs as that seems to make his back end go... floppy... and he mostly falls anyway so it was a case of being ready to catch him. He has no sense or fear of heights and seems maybe a little slow... mentally...
I've pricked him a few more times and still can't get enough blood for a reading.
As I see it I have 4 options.
1) Stop stressing, he's happy enough and doesn't seem to be in any pain. (this would take the most effort on my part as I don't know how to not stress out about things, hence yet another post).
2) Take him to our normal vets and ask again for them to do a BG test (not sure why but she didn't want to do one last time), then run other blood tests, then do an x-ray (which she suggested we do if I'm still concerned).
3) Take him to the vet's the rescue uses, it's a good trek from my house and I don't know them but the rescue trusts them. Also other than a quick check over and maybe a vaccination they haven't seen Mako before.
4) Any other suggests you have?
Also I'm worried about him in the cage. He, Bolin and Korra are getting on so much better, they're together 24/7 again in the full double level critter nation. Bolin and Mako struggle with the ramps, even with tunnels on. I did want to build an outdoor cage but after reading stories I'm a worried about something happening to them. They can't be free roam all the time, they need to be locked up at least while we are out and ideally over night.
Would adding another critter nation and building longer ramps help? Or changing the cage completely? Or am I being daft and should I just go back to having an outside setup?
It would be a shed with a run and everything above ground level would be gentle slopes and boxed in.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2015 22:22:01 GMT -5
Can they be free roam in one room at night or during day ( if u got the space)?
I put two ferret nation ramps side by side in one of the levels of my cage ,making it wider. if you can build a wider and longer ramp that would be nice
I also put 2 thick, socks on each ramp for padding---cheaper than buying ramp covers if u dont sew.
definitely adding another cage would give more space for them to move around. Something simple with wide shelves--nothing complicated for the one with gait problems.
I am not for outside structures because of mosquitoes at night. I Like my babies close by,too.
But that is your choice.
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Post by Heather on Mar 26, 2015 23:09:50 GMT -5
I would be taking this ferret to a vet, either your vet or the one the rescue uses and get a BG done. DO NOT VACCs....he is ill and until you figure out what is wrong, the last thing you need to do is add a toxin to the mix. If it's not BG then you're going to need to look at possible neurological issues. This isn't normal. I would be very worried
As far as a cage, you need to create a safe series of ramps/tunnels and levels that they can't fall off of.
ciao
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Post by RedSky on Mar 27, 2015 6:10:46 GMT -5
Sorry, I think I misled you. The rescue will have vaccinated when they had them and used that vet. I don't intend on having them vaccinated every year I don't think they need it that often from the evidence I have read. My vet agrees with me on this.
How would we test for neurological problems?
Korra taught him how to climb the sides of the playpen too, so I can't even keep him confined in there. She climbed out over 10 times and then he climbed up. At that point I brought them all back inside.
At the moment we don't have a room that is safe or suitable, we are redecorating the entire house room by room and now the room where I plan on keeping them is ready but full of stuff from other rooms so can't be used yet.
He also pulls up the carpet, any idea how to stop him? Anything I can put down other than big wooden boards? I can't put one behind the door?
Oops forgot to add, I'll call the vet and get him looked at again. I'll push for a BG test, seems a really easy and simple test to rule of a common possible problem. If it's fine I'll ask for a full blood workup and wait for the results before scheduling anything else. He has always been a bit clumsy but is definitely worse now than when we got him. Maybe it's having to use the levels and ramps.
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Post by RedSky on Mar 27, 2015 6:58:35 GMT -5
Would he have to have a general anesthetic for a blood test? I've tried googling it and not found much of anything. It's just if he needs to be put under for a blood test they might as well do the x-ray at the same time??? Not worth putting him under twice, right?
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Post by Blue on Mar 27, 2015 13:17:46 GMT -5
For a regular blood test no, no anesthesia. They can also do some body x-rays without him being put under. X-ray of the head he needs to be sedated -- only reason I know this is that Maisie was sedated for teeth cleaning and I used the opportunity to get a complete set of x-rays (everything was fine). What's your worry about the cage? Falling? I put hammocks beneath the shelf ledges so that if she does fall, it's onto a hammock. You could also add cushions or pillows. I have those at the foot of the cage just in case. But there's some good news in there: all three get along well enough to share a cage? That's great  I hope you find out what's wrong with Mako and that it's fixable, or at least that he maintains a good quality of life. Your 3 weasels have put you through a lot in the 3 months you've had them! You've been a great ferrent and they're lucky to have you. Did you ever get results back from Bolin's spleen? |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2015 0:37:36 GMT -5
I pulled up carpet in the room i have for ferrets and put vinyl down.
Do u have a playpen like marshall farms? It has a horizontal bar that is too far up for mine to get a hold of and climb.
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Post by RedSky on Mar 28, 2015 5:20:24 GMT -5
If I take Mako into the rooms with vinyl he and Bolin slip all over. Mako is much worse than Bolin and Bolin is getting better at walking on it.
I can't seem to find a Marshall's style playpen, all the horizontal bars are too close. I thought about putting something on the top to stop him climbing over but the two times I have blocked him rather than picking him up and putting him back in he just let go. It's not overly high but if he landed funny I'm scared he will hurt himself.
I could try to make a playpen using wooden boards or something? Just need to figure out a way to make them stable but have it so I can take it apart easy when we need to use the room, or to let them in and out during play time.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2015 8:04:44 GMT -5
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