Post by evedity on Nov 26, 2022 10:11:23 GMT -5
Hi I hate to make my first post this but I need a place to vent this out. So I have 3 ferrets. Ash and marshmallow are about 7 years old. Graham our baby was only 2. Ash and marshmallow developed insulinoma signs but are definitely still happy and bouncy so I am expecting them to only make it another year. I never could have predicted Graham dying this way. On Thanksgiving I went to go check on him and he was on the floor of the cage away from his bed where he usually cuddles with the rest of them. I took him out of the cage and he was limp and colder than he usually was. He looked to have vomited and inhaled some of it. I'm 16 so I went to my mom to show her what had happened and that Graham was still conscious. We felt his belly and it was hard in one particular spot. We thought a obstruction happened again (he ate his whole bed last year) and we were worried since he almost didn't make it last time. While mom was giving him ferret lax I was calling every exotic vet in my city and ofc none of them are open on Thanksgiving day. Nobody answered the animal emergency hotline. Since his body temp was low we filled up bottles of hot water and with some towels we wrapped him up in the carrier. We brought him to my grandpa's since he is right by a vet in case they opened. My mom kangarooed him while in the towel to keep him warm. He vomited twice but was more alert after drinking water. The hope was to keep his comfortable and hydrated till we could get him to the vet. His belly just kept expanding like a balloon. Eventually he had 2 hard muscle spasms with his jaw cletched hard. Then he went limp and was no longer breathing. My mom tried to resitate him but he was just gone. Our best guess it was horrible bloat and I think the gas tore something open and caused him to go into shock. I thought of bringing the body home to let the other ferrets have closure but Graham didn't look like Graham anymore. It definitely was not a clean death but I gave the others the towels he was left in. They are really depressed right now. Ash is self isolating right now which I know isn't helping marshmallow. I cuddle both of them. Ash knows a few words that she reacts too. I tell her I love her alot. So when she is wrapped up in the towels I say Graham love Ash and she make a little sound and becomes a little more upbeat when I say that. The other one marshmallow is more tricky to comfort. He's deaf but I play and snuggle him even if he usually doesn't cuddle. These two have lost one playmate a few years ago and we got Graham a few months after to help them be more active. Graham ment so much to them that this is all just really heartbreaking. The hard thing now is trying to balance giving them time to grieve but I feel like it would be beneficial to get another one. Ash dosen't play the way marshmallow does. She more a tunnel gal then wrestling. Ash is also a huge mama bear so she takes care of all of them so I think a new one could help them out. I don't see a new ferret as a replacement. I just was all my ferrets to be happy. While Graham is definitely a ferret never to be forgotten I think we need something to help all of us heal and move on. Thanks you for reading. Advice would be greatly appreciated because yeah this was so sudden that I have no idea what to do now.
As for the others, they need time to grieve. Keep a close eye on Ash if he is isolating himself. It isn't that uncommon for them to try to follow their deceased friend. You may wind up having to hand feed for a while if he quits eating. As for their insulinoma, you can still buy some decent quality time with prednisolone twice daily. It is an inexpensive med, and having a blood glucose test done in also inexpensive. It is done in house with a glucometer. 
