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Post by katt on Apr 15, 2011 0:42:35 GMT -5
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Post by katt on Apr 15, 2011 0:51:23 GMT -5
Ooops. I just realized I took the video upside down! haha Sorry!  Just stand on your head and watch it!  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2011 4:47:19 GMT -5
I didn't really know much besides the basics about Adrenal and IBD but I just did some research and it's interesting how little they seem to know about it... interesting in a bad way. But I'd love to talk to you more about Koda and whats going on with him if you don't mind  I feel like it would be a good learning experience for me and will probably come in handy one day soon. I have a little bit of a background in chem/bio/medical care.. by which I mean first year University science (zoology program) as well as 2+years volunteering at a dog/cat vet clinic, so I have a basic understanding of the bodies endocrine/immune/intestinal responses. You said he has IBD? How long ago was he diagnosed and did they specify a type I found this through some preliminary reading In fact, over half of the total lymphoid tissue of the body resides in the gastrointestinal tract. Threats may come in the form of ingested bacteria, viruses, toxic or allergenic substances; even developing tumor cells may elicit a protective inflammatory response. In this particular case, lymphocytes are the primary cells orchestrating the inflammatory reaction. In another, less common form of IBD, known as eosinophilic enteritis, eosinophils, which normally function primarily in allergic or anti-parasitic reactions, are the primary cells, multiplying madly and spewing their destructive enzymes throughout the gastrointestinal tract. ^^ www.afip.org/consultation/vetpath/ferrets/Ferret%20IBD.pdfAnd those exerts are randomly pulled from the article So the IBD could be getting worse due to an immune response originating from something else. What sort of tests have you done? (just direct me to a link if you've typed it all out already) And your right about the pictures.. his coat does look more full now that I've seen it closely With a bacterial induced IBD case what are their activity levels like? I read they are lethargic but do you know to what extent? Would his aggression levels rule out just an IBD? In my experience animals who are having a hard time digesting and obtaining nutrients spend all of their time conserving energy.. but then again.. most animals aren't ferrets |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2011 5:12:57 GMT -5
And this was what I meant with the hunching... it could just be a general sign of sickness. I saw hunching a lot with my ratties as they got closer to paradise.  It just seems like his hind legs are tucked farther in then they normally are (almost like he's dragging his bum?) I know ferrets normally hunch but it seems like there are slight differences to me. Am I imagining it  ? |
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Post by katt on Apr 15, 2011 5:27:09 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2011 7:15:15 GMT -5
I didn't end up sleeping tonight even though I'm almost done exams and should be stress free... school's just awesome isn't it  ? And I quick read through everything you posted. The main points I absorbed being that what your feeding him doesn't consistently make him healthier. It's very up and down- very random. Has been going on since around Sept 2010. And a fecal came back positive for a bacterial infection (high gut load of bacteria), but no heliobacter and no parasites. Did they ever tell you what kind of bacteria they were finding? Did you have other fecals/bloodwork done? (sorry if I missed it) Any titers? (my understanding of titers is also limited) And pred is a immuno-suppresant right? and he has not been on it from the begining? |
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Post by katt on Apr 15, 2011 13:32:58 GMT -5
I didn't end up sleeping tonight even though I'm almost done exams and should be stress free... school's just awesome isn't it ? And I quick read through everything you posted. The main points I absorbed being that what your feeding him doesn't consistently make him healthier. It's very up and down- very random. Has been going on since around Sept 2010. And a fecal came back positive for a bacterial infection (high gut load of bacteria), but no heliobacter and no parasites. Did they ever tell you what kind of bacteria they were finding? Did you have other fecals/bloodwork done? (sorry if I missed it) Any titers? (my understanding of titers is also limited) And pred is a immuno-suppresant right? and he has not been on it from the begining? No he has not been given any pred, and I have no intention of giving him any unless I have to. It has a lot of unpleasant side effects. No I did not find out what kind of bacteria. And no, I have been very successful at controlling his IBD through diet. He is allergic to beef, sensitive to chicken, and mildly sensitive to meats similar to those two. He does extremely well on meats such as pork, rabbit, duck, lamb (when he will eat it), and whole prey. He also does well on the commercial ground meats that I get which include all kinds of things such as rabbit, pheasant, quail... He can have buffalo, but only a little bit, and not for several days in a row. Same thing with Cornish Game Hen and Turkey. He does better with a high fiber diet and gets regular pumpkin and semi regular flax seed. Freeze dried foods agree with him very well. As does whole prey, which he gets as often as I can get it. Right now my mouse breeding program is in a bit of an odd stage so he is not getting them as often as usual, but I do buy f/t prey as well. Mice, rats, and I managed to come across a few rabbit kits once. If I ever live in a place where I can have a deep freezer I will be able to order from Rodent Pro and give him more whole prey variety. The problem with IBD is that it is unpredictable. If he gets stressed, his stomach can act up. I live a very stressful life. Unfortunately this carries over to my ferrets as they are extremely perceptive to such things. Shedding is very stressful, changes in routine are stressful, etc. This goes for good and bad stress. For example, when I brought Kenai home they both had severe stress poops for many weeks. Now they are fine. When he does have a flare up I am able to control it pretty well with Reishi supplement, probiotics, and if it gets too bad, Slippery Elm Bark which is a tummy coater. You said you skimmed the stuff from the IBD thread, but did you Read what Jennifer (Mustelidmusk) wrote? She is a wealth of information on IBD and adrenal. She has has multiple IBD babies and is just about as expert as you can get on adrenal. She has done more research on adrenal than anyone. Also, I was watching Koda walk last night, and watching videos of him from last summer. And I have concluded that IMO, your observation of Koda looking hunched is imagined.  He looks like a ferret to me. And I don't see much difference - if any - between when he was a younger kit and now. I think what you are seeing, such as in the video that you posted is that ferret is hairless, and very skinny. So it makes her look more arched? I just don't see it on Koda sorry. Kenai walks the same way. The difference is that Kenai has a Big Belly! haha So his bottom line looks less curved. He is also lazy and likes to slide around more. haha But when you see him really walking and running around and not begin lazy, he looks just like Koda.... |
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