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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2013 8:59:15 GMT -5
This drug is an anti biotic and as far as I know, it is prescription only. That could be different in Greece. Antibiotics really won't do much since if it is IBD since it's not an infection. It's an immune response to a trigger. All antibiotics will do is kill whatever good gut bacteria he has left in him and undo all of your hard work with probiotics. Antibiotics are NOT something to be used lightly, especially not Metro. It is the most foul tasting substance and it severely stresses ferrets out, sometimes to the point of ulcers and has to be force fed.
The key to living with and improving IBD is in managing diet.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 31, 2013 11:05:59 GMT -5
Our vet did prescribe a course of metro for Boris(my IBD boy) for a 10 day period. I don't remember the dosage, sorry. However, I'd never give it again given my choice. It has to be the worst tasting drug out there for them, poor mites. And yes, it is so stressful for them to take it in most cases that it's known to cause an ulcer at times. It didn't do anything for him anyway, long term. The only thing that controlled Boris' IBD was a course of prednisolone combined with the digestive enzymes mixed in with his commercial raw. If you can get a grind from a butcher of lamb meat/organ/heart/bone(80% meat including the heart, 10% organ-liver and kidney, and 10% ground bone) you can start mixing the digestive enzymes with that and give it until his IBD is under control. But he will need something like the prednisolone to get the inflammation under control for anything else to work.
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Post by Heather on Jan 31, 2013 12:01:23 GMT -5
I've used it a couple of times. It's disgusting. It puts so much stress on the wee ones that I refuse to use it. My present vet is of the same opinion, it's a drug of last choice. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2013 12:12:32 GMT -5
I think joining the Mentoring program here on the fourm would be great to help you learn a little more about how to feed raw. It can seem complicated at first but once you've read enough and asked a lot of questions it really starts to become easy. It is a little more involved then plunking down kibble in a bowl and you really have to make sure your diet is balanced to get the full benefit. holisticferret60.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=switch&action=display&thread=61
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2013 14:01:44 GMT -5
i have been feeding him raw 2 years then he developed ibd(we didn't do a biopsy or a complete diognosis,the bloodtest and the fecal exam didn't show anything ,so the only disease that has these symptoms is ibd.)Then, i started kibble ZD for one month and now i wanna switch him to medium-done rabbit and lamb but he seems like he is having a hard time digesting fat....today he is not feeling really well he was out only for 1 hour,that's not normal for my ferret.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 31, 2013 20:00:03 GMT -5
I think part of the problem with the energy is the ZD itself, as it has minimal meat protein. So he doesn't get as much nutrition from it, meaning he won't have as much energy. What was his source of calcium when you were raw feeding? I seem to recall you said you didn't feed bone? We are asking a lot of questions, I know. We are trying to see if we can notice something that maybe you or your vet didn't.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2013 7:27:54 GMT -5
Whenever i try to increase the quantity of meat in his diet i see more mucous on his stool,it is weird cause meat protein is supposed to help him.Has anybody used vitamin b 12 ingections for ibd,a lot of people use vitamin b 12 ingections for their cats with ibd,cause they are prone to b12 deficiency.B12 does not cause toxicity.
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Post by Sherry on Feb 1, 2013 9:54:48 GMT -5
Whenever i try to increase the quantity of meat in his diet i see more mucous on his stool,it is weird cause meat protein is supposed to help him. This is what the pancreatic enzymes help.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2013 10:14:52 GMT -5
Hi Jim, apologies for not responding to you PM yesterday - I meant to respond, but my job got in the way and I did not get online. Regarding the B-12.... I talked to my old ferret vet-(now retired & living in a different state ) about B vitamins.....here is what I learned..... It's not uncommon for ferrets with chronic diarrhea to be low in B-12. It can help with IBD, and it can help to increase appetite. The B-12 must be given as an injection (feeding the B-12 does not work because it's not be readily absorbed when given orally. I will respond to your pm later - already late for work today -jennifer I do understand that you ferret is having a real problem, and it really SUCKS when the vets are not cooperative.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2013 16:17:42 GMT -5
i wanted also to ask you guys about ferret and polyouria,it seems like 5 months now,when his ibd started becoming obvious,that my ferret is urinating much more than normal,i did a blood test 2 months ago and it didn't show anything,my vet told that he doesn't have a problem with his kidney or his liver and he is not anemic,could this be from ibd?i was also wondering if it's the beggining of adrenal disease but he doesn't exhibit any other symptoms like hair loss,itchiness, agressive behavior or mounting.can a ferret with ibd have polyouria?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2013 19:20:16 GMT -5
One of the things I have been meaning to mention, but I did not want to alarm you just yet, is that ferrets that both the IBD and the frequent/excessive urination may be due to adrenal issues/elevated hormone levels. Is the amunt of urine greater than usual? This is usually NOT the case with IBD alone - in fact, IBD ferrets tend to be more dehydrated and urinate less than usual - unless they are drinking a LOT to make up for the loss of fluids. And when the tummy feels bad, the ferret may not want to drink or eat as much. Here is a good read on adrenal disease - it discusses polyuria as a symptom of adrenal issues. www.cabi.org/isc/ShowPDF.aspx?PAN=20093019036Here is a good read on IBD - this one mentions adrenal as well as the use of azathioprine/imuran instead of prednisolone. www.ferret.org/pdfs/health/IBD.pdf-jennifer
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2013 20:09:40 GMT -5
another thing to keep in mind is that intrepretting blood work for ferrets is different, especially for kidney disease. Ferrets can have kidney disease without increased levels of bun/creatinine. If you look in the medical section of this forum, there's a folder for kidney disease that has a good article on intrepretting ferret blood work for kidney issues. Here is another good read by Burgess on gut stuff.... www.docstoc.com/docs/86556704/GASTROINTESTINAL-HEPATIC-DISEASES-IN-THE-FERRET-jennifer
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2013 15:44:13 GMT -5
As for the bone,will the bone powder be beneficial for him?since his body cannot break down bones?will this support his digestion?do i have to know the source of the bone?most products say bone meal and they don't mention the source,for instance if it's bone meal from poultry source will it cause allergic reaction or it doesn't matter because it's concetrated bone?
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Post by Heather on Feb 4, 2013 16:58:29 GMT -5
I use bonemeal for human consumption but you can also use egg shell powder. I don't know if you've tried this but it also works, perhaps if you shift between these two items it might help. Bonemeal is normally baked or cooked so it looses some of the micronutrients that are in the actual bone. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2013 12:16:05 GMT -5
Egg shell powder?It sounds intresting but i ordered bone meal powder.
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