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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2012 0:46:29 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2012 1:18:16 GMT -5
Awesome! What are each of those (like liquid, solid... do I feed it or add it to the food?)? Where are they found? Thanks!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2012 1:21:37 GMT -5
Pretty sure they are mostly solids (powders and the like). Most of these can be found at a health/vitamin store. Sherry would know more specific info on dosage and where to buy.
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Post by Sherry on Aug 24, 2012 8:45:03 GMT -5
Some of these supplements can be used on a regular basis, others for specific problems. Let's just deal with using these supplements for IBD right now. Probiotics. There are a variety. I got Prozyme from Tailblazer's. Just a pinch every meal. You can also use acidopholus or kefir(both these are living probio's and have to be kept in the fridge) used the same way.
Reishi. 1/4 capsule per day. Pick these up in a health food store, or order online.
Pancreatic Enzymes. Again, order as above. Some have found the New Chapter work better for more severe cases of IBD. I didn't have a chance to try them with Boris. The one I got at the health food store worked well for him though, as long as he was willing to eat the food with it on. We used 1/2 capsule mixed in well.
Slippery Elm. Health food store. Use as needed, but not too often as it coats the stomach and can prevent absorption. I made the syrup and gave a tbsp for flareups.
Flax Seed and Pumpkin. I don't necessarily like using flax because some ferrets show allergic reaction in the form of excess itching. For IBD I gave a tbsp of pumpkin daily, split between the two meals.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2012 13:25:13 GMT -5
Great! Thanks for that info Sherry! But.. we're on our way to the vet this afternoon Lyla's back down to 635 this morning. Although her poops are still good looking and she still eats and explores and all, this morning she threw up all her forced meal So I'm gonna take her in,, see what they say about it
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2012 18:03:41 GMT -5
Back from the vet. She did a complete blood test, and said everything was normal. She didn't feel anything abnormal either... So... she's to be observed. If she's not better in 5-7 days, bring her back, they'll take xrays and stuff. She said the next step would be looking for possible tumors...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2012 18:19:52 GMT -5
I'd wonder if she had a parasite or worms, but that seems unlikely since your others don't have the same problem.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2012 23:03:57 GMT -5
Not eggs or larvae or anything in the poops indicating worms... but yeah, the fact that the others aren't sick makes it almost certain that it's not contagious...
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Post by Sherry on Aug 25, 2012 9:13:24 GMT -5
How has Meeko been doing? Or have there been any other changes in your household? What I'm asking is could stress have triggered this latest episode?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2012 13:09:16 GMT -5
Meeko's doing better than ever! Her hair'S almost all back, and she's more active than big Baloo... Baloo and Meeko are constantly wrestling and playing when they're out of the cage. In june I got a pair of budgies, and then end of july I started kittysitting the baby cat, but nothing recent, that I can think of, could have caused her a lot of stress... it was before we went off for camping and my mom watched over them for the weekend... and that week... nothing out of the ordinary that I can think of... :S
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Post by Heather on Aug 25, 2012 14:14:01 GMT -5
The problem about locating a physical stressor is that what has happened may not be reacted upon during a timely fashion. We were discussing how to discover a stressor or trigger on another list and how we could trace it. Ulcers is a ferrants biggest nightmare and when you run a shelter where stress loads are often high this can be a huge problem. Tracking stressors and isolating issues and ferrets (personalities also come into play) is ultimately an issue that is a great concern with shelters. One thing that was noted that an incident can occur up to almost 2 weeks prior to a serious ulcer issue being noted. So, a stressor can actually occur weeks before the ulcer or IBD issue is noted. Depending on the ferret, the stressor variable is immeasurable. Some react to changes in cagemates and meeting with new ferrets. Others react as a huge stressor being changes in food, timetables, cages. Some may even react to changes in adjoining cages (different ferrets). Petty bickering may not affect the immediate group (where the fighting is going on) but it may affect a sensitive sort in the adjoining group. So, as you can see tracking a stressor is very difficult. Sometimes something we would overlook, consider inconsiquential for a sensitive ferret is overload. It may not even be that event but how close it occurred to other events that already stressed the wee one. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2012 19:47:25 GMT -5
How did the vet visit go?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2012 1:58:38 GMT -5
Thanks Heather! Sadly, I can't think of anything out of the ordinary that's happened within two weeks of her sickness.... The ONLY thing that was really different was bringing the baby cat home, but that happened about a month before her diarrhea... The vet visit went great, Jackie. The vet palpated Lyla everywhere, and said everything felt pretty normal. One area felt a little different she said, but nothing alarming. Probably a piece of intestines she thought, but she got others to have a feel and they all thought it was nothing wrong. Body temp was normal, so Doc suggested a complete blood check. She got sedated because they take from the jugular veins, and the tech said she woke up a few minutes later and was fully alert instantly. Though Lyla was shivering pretty badly when she came back, she recovered from that within 15 minutes of cuddling in the clinic waiting for the results of the blood test. The vet said nothing was significantly out of the ordinary. She suggested to keep an eye on her, and that if she gets worse, or hasn't gained weight in 5-7 days, to bring her back and they'd do more tests, trying to determine if she may have some tumors somewhere hidden... She still hasn't gained any weight (still at 630g), but she eats a few times a day on her own, and I try to force feed her some, but she absolutely hates it, and since I see her eating several times a day, I don't force it upon her too much... she drinks well still and poops look normal... She played quite a bit today too (a little more than usual), and when she plays she's bright and alert as she usually is... It's all so weird!
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Post by Heather on Aug 26, 2012 17:11:49 GMT -5
It's all about ferrets. They are horrible to diagnose.... ciao
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2012 23:47:09 GMT -5
Ugh... another day and no change at all. Everything is fine but her weight. Tonight she's even running around hiding some toys... I'm starting to consider another option... should I get her a small bag of her old GF kibble? I,m sure she'd eat that, and it would surely make her gain weight... but... then it'll be very hard to wean her back onto raw as she just about doesn't like it... :S What do you guys think? I've tried giving her extra treats, but the only treats she'll eat are the freese dried meats... she won't even tough ferretone! To the point where she fights me not to have ferretone... What should I do!?!
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