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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2013 8:33:46 GMT -5
Oh boy, alrighty...always fun as the semester is getting underway too and I already have logged all 3 of the babies in regards to they're switch to raw soupy...so I'll make special notes for Meeko as I keep him only on rabbit, and yeah I'm obviously going to have to sub. in another animal's organs/heart for a taurine source...ok so stick with rabbit and watch everything... I'll keep updated
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Post by katt on Feb 3, 2013 13:58:19 GMT -5
If it is any mental relief for now, I'll be working with you on your switch over in the mentoring board. I have just asked Heather to wait until Tuesday to set up an official thread as I'm studying for my interview until then and probably won't be on the board much tomorrow (if at all). I went through the ringer with Koda and his IBD, so we'll work on Meeko and I'll be there to help out as much as needed. As for the log, I would suggest a spreadsheet on your computer. I'd have to pull up Koda's old chart but off the top of my head I had Column Labels from left to right: Date (am/pm - which meal); Food Description; Supplements given (and how much); Amount Eaten; Poop Rating*; Description of Poops (be thorough, describe as many as possible - it's harder with multiples so try to catch him in the act at least 1-2 times a day, once per meal); Description of Activity Level and Behavior; Notes (anything stressful happen today? does his coat look extra dry, etc). *Poop Rating. You need to come up with a standard for yourself. Either numbers 1-10 (1 being horrible, 10 being perfect or vice versa), or a word rating (Horrible, Bad, Poor, Fair, Good, Perfect), etc. Something along those lines. It takes a while to establish what types of poop fit which ratings but after a few weeks you really develop a system. This part of your log is particularly important. If you have the spreadsheet saved and on your desktop it is easy to keep track. It takes just a few seconds 2-3 times a day to fill in the columns, and then you have an invaluable record. It really goes a long way towards helping you determine what works and what does not. Otherwise, esp with food and supplement trials, it can become so confusing and haphazard. Did he have good poop on that supplement or not? It was 3 weeks ago now, I can't remember. How many days did he have diarrhea after that turkey meat again? Keeping records of every little thing is tedious, but once you get in the routine it is so simple to do and can save you a LOT of trouble.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2013 19:41:46 GMT -5
Thank you, thank you, and thank you...Best of luck on the interview, I know you'll nail it ~ As far as a journal, we have started a paper journal in regards to his transition to a raw diet and also how much he ate and how he took to it and etc. so we have NO problem logging as we have in the past and are currently logging everything. I do it for my labs and what not for school so it's a sinch ! I'll make the spreadsheet online so that way we can have 2 logs going and also have one that we can easily post up on here for all to see. Quick side note, meeko got a oatmeal bath last night...he enjoyed and looked better, come today....ALL his sores are obviously inflamed, defiantly scratching worse than he had before.... he's all torn up all over his body from scratching. He is on day 2 of JUST rabbit and some pumpkin for stool... so I don't know to continue the rabbit or not? I'm sorry to bother as I know you're busy but I don't know....another bath to soothe? It's just the red has defiantly come back and he's scratching hard today...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2013 19:52:27 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2013 20:03:18 GMT -5
Pictures do it NO justice, but we gave him another oatmeal bath because I'm at a loss....I don't know what to do...we've already looked around the house for something ti tape over his paws...would this be bad? I know it sounds horribly inhumane but he is litterally tearing himself apart...he's out of the bath now so I'll keep updated.... Again, thanks all~
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Post by katt on Feb 3, 2013 20:23:08 GMT -5
Oh poor baby! I wonder if he has some sort of skin infection? Poor thing! Could getting it wet have made it worse? Some skin conditions have to be kept dry so they can dry up. Obviously there is no way of knowing ahead of time in his case.... let us know what happens after this bath. Has he been given antibiotics at all? I would really suggest asking the vet to do a skin culture, and treat for adrenal. Like we said, at the very least it won't hurt him to do the 3 month trial, and at the best it could really help. Where does he play? Could there be some irritant somewhere that he is getting into? What do you clean the cage with?
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Post by katt on Feb 3, 2013 20:29:37 GMT -5
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Post by katt on Feb 3, 2013 20:33:23 GMT -5
Does your local pharmacy carry silver sulfadiazine? The only problem I see is if he tried to lick it off... :S Not sure that's safe. But it is a very powerful antiseptic cream. It is used in human burn patients, and works VERY well. I use it on all of my animals, I always have a tube around. It helped a gash on my hamster's face heal almost overnight, and I used it a lot on my iguana (she had come from a rough situation and had holes in her dewlap that she would frequently rip while itching during sheds).
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Post by katt on Feb 3, 2013 20:37:03 GMT -5
I don't intend to frighten you, but could it possibly be distemper? How long has this been going on? The red and thick appearance of his paws, combined with the irritation around his anus and mouth and the diarrhea really concern me. Though that is all the pathway of food too, mouth, anus, digestive tract, and feet if he is standing in a feeding den or putting his paws on his bowl. www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=674I would at the Very least call and ask your vet bout benadryl, and what dose he should get. If it is allergy related, that should help calm things down at least a little bit and help make him more comfortable... He definitely needs to get into a vet.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2013 21:02:31 GMT -5
I don't intend to frighten you, but could it possibly be distemper? How long has this been going on? The red and thick appearance of his paws, combined with the irritation around his anus and mouth and the diarrhea really concern me. Though that is all the pathway of food too, mouth, anus, digestive tract, and feet if he is standing in a feeding den or putting his paws on his bowl. www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=674I would at the Very least call and ask your vet bout benadryl, and what dose he should get. If it is allergy related, that should help calm things down at least a little bit and help make him more comfortable... He definitely needs to get into a vet. Yes, he hasn't been vacc. as I'm not a general fan due to my own reasons. As far as the areas, yes he gnaws at his joint on his legs, his head - behind his ears, and his left eye in particular, his shoulder's and shoulder blades, and his anus and surrounding area. Otherwise his body itself actually isn't affected at ALL...like fluffy and nice.. The benadryl...we have some but yes I will call the vet. tomorrow before I give anything obviously. I'm sorry to have a wall of text, and yes he had a vet visit planned ASAP as we just got the blood work done and the vet wanted to do the urine analysis so yes, he is going back, i'll do my best to get ASAP because my heart can't take much more of this...I feel so helpless as he scratches, I can only hold him and talk to him and soothe him...it's bad though considering you can feel him pushing his itchy areas against my body trying to relieve the itch. As far as length of time he's been doing it for about 2 months now...it's been getting worse, but again I summed it up to the adrenal...I feel bad now for just assuming and what not.... Thank you So much....SO....much, from all of us here in the snow, thank you all~ EDIT: sorry they're out of order, just my computer geeked and they sent... sorry~
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2013 21:02:53 GMT -5
[/IMG] I wonder if he has some sort of skin infection? Poor thing! Could getting it wet have made it worse? Some skin conditions have to be kept dry so they can dry up. Obviously there is no way of knowing ahead of time in his case.... let us know what happens after this bath. Has he been given antibiotics at all? I would really suggest asking the vet to do a skin culture, and treat for adrenal. Like we said, at the very least it won't hurt him to do the 3 month trial, and at the best it could really help. Where does he play? Could there be some irritant somewhere that he is getting into? What do you clean the cage with?[/quote] The skin disease, yes possibly...the skin is rather weepy, no bleeding but weepy, a term given when posion ivy and what not oozes..so we dunno what to do in regards to keeping it dry. Bath being over he's......kinda better, he wants food BAD...so we gave him a bowl of his rabbit soupy, ate a whole bowl and another half a bowl in ~10min....which yes scared us but he was breathing fine while eating it down so no real concerns IMO. As far as antibiotics, yes....once upon a time he was on amoxycillin** but that was awhile ago. Yes we are going to be demanding lupron and Ill ask for a skin test... Reading the links as soon as I'm done here~ As far as the vet..I go to work before they open so I can't even call and see if they can even see him... I will call though to talk to the vet about this.. as far as bloodwork, yes he has had it done recently and it came back all good except for a low Albumin protein count, which the way I understand it does effect the way liquids are held and distrubted as well as absorbed, so I've read up on hypoalbuminemia and the symptoms can be VERY similar to what Meeko is showing, so it's another issue the vet wants to address ASAP via a urinary analysis I guess she wants to do? Any input...? She wants to see if the lack of Albumin could be associated via urinary tract or something...so we'll see...Will ask about pred. as well..I know this one, my gf gets Posion ivy and posion oak flareups BAD...like BAD...so we've been down this road~ Does your local pharmacy carry silver sulfadiazine? The only problem I see is if he tried to lick it off... :S Not sure that's safe. But it is a very powerful antiseptic cream. It is used in human burn patients, and works VERY well. I use it on all of my animals, I always have a tube around. It helped a gash on my hamster's face heal almost overnight, and I used it a lot on my iguana (she had come from a rough situation and had holes in her dewlap that she would frequently rip while itching during sheds). Will be checking...again the concern for licking off....read of on ingestion of that and that doesn't sound fun though.. '
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2013 21:09:48 GMT -5
What about slathering a layer of sudocrem or something similar on his skin? Does anyone think this would help it itch less and maybe protect it a little against him biting or scratching? Maybe put that medicine that can't be ingested on his skin, then cover it in the sudocrem? Is aloe safe to use on ferrets like it is in humans? Maybe even plain vaseline rubbed into his skin well?
Poor boy, I hope you guys get an answer on what is going on with him soon!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2013 21:17:49 GMT -5
I read the links, very informative first so Thanks~
For mites, he got treated with Revolution the last time he was at the vet...so I'm assuming we can rule that out? Same with some of the other creepy crawlys he can have?
Also for distemper and others, he doesn't have any issues with his feet or toes/nails, it's just the joints of his legs and head, shoulders, anus area..
The article on Adrenal, that seemed to go into how the oils are produced as well? This is a new thing for him in the past well less than a week in regards to his weep that is about, becuase it's not puss like or discolored...just oily...and not smelly at all, so I kind of again maybe point the finger at adrenal? I don't know I feel bad to sum it up like that considering the long list of what it could be...
On a side maybe positive note!! He has kinda just went somewhere and fallen asleep (behind me in a blankey) and he's calmed down on his scratching...so for now it's calm...
Again thank you all~
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2013 21:17:51 GMT -5
Take a tube sock cut the toe part off - cut slits for his front legs - and you have a ferret t-shirt . Make it short enough so he doesnt potty on it. Childrens benadryl may help but I dont remember the dose ? Poor baby - hope you find out what is wrong.
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Post by Heather on Feb 3, 2013 21:50:51 GMT -5
Good luck, hopefully your vet has come up with some answers. It's not fair to leave him to suffer such itching. That's a horrible mess, poor wee mite ciao
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