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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2014 18:25:30 GMT -5
Today has been an emotional roller coaster. Maybe Skeeter heard me all upset. At his 6pm feeding (2nd dose of Pred for the day), I put some Salmon Oil in the syringe. I know he doesn't like it but he doesn't hate it as much as the Pred. I fed him first. He ate well and without me forcing it. So either he's super hungry, or the Pred is working, or he heard me beg him to eat. After eating well, I gave it about 15 minutes to let the food settle in his stomach. Then I gave him the Pred/Salmon Oil mix which he hated, gagged, thrashed in his scruff (his signal to tell me he's had it). I put him in his crate (the travel crate is in the enclosure like a hidey nook now). He snuggled in his favorite blanket. I had some food residue on my finger from force feeding Candy (who doesn't like this week's protein, but will eat it if I put it on my finger). Skeeter stuck his nose out and licked off the food, so I got more on my finger, and he ate that. He ate another 2 tablespoons worth of food off my finger, including some heart chunks. So after eating his fill in the crate, he hopped out and played carpet shark, cleaning his mouth. He ran around with Trigger a little. He came up to me. He found Rufus's stash and ate a little more and then hopped (not wobbled) up onto the FN shelf and snuggled onto Trigger in the hammock. He acted very different.
I'm still very sad because he's looking small next to Candy and she's my petite girl and he was very wobbly today. But, hopefully I won't have to try any of the last resorts we came up with. I did buy the Carnivore Care and a bag of Epigen 90 to have on hand just in case. I don't want to get to a desperate time and then have to order.
I want you to know that I'm not one of those people who will just give up - I've had the bag of kibble the shelter gave me sitting on a shelf (Our house mice have gotten into it and eaten some, so I don't have the heart to throw it away). I haven't even thought about giving it to Skeeter. I will continue to work my butt off to get them fully switched to Frankenprey. I just want to have that safety net, just in case.
Rufus is eating slivers of heart mixed in with the soup. He's actually been picking them out and eating them in private. Do you think I should buy some whole cavvies and rabbit from HT and cut them up for him to try, since he's doing well with chunks? I think he might prefer them.
Trigger, such a special boy. He licks the chunks to death but doesn't try to eat/chew them unless I push it between his teeth. Then he will chew on it until it falls out of his mouth. I'm not sure he remembers how to be a carnivore. Either that or he's a bit lazy.
Candy won't chew anything bigger than the fine grinds. She much prefers the mousse texture when I blend the food.
Poop all looks good, they're well hydrated with the food and the bowls of water I have out for them. I'm doing everything I can to make them happy.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2014 23:50:42 GMT -5
I'm so glad he ate well tonight! And his energy level increase is good news too! Hopefully it keeps up. Once the pred is at the right dosage he should start gaining weight again. It's a steroid and is known to increase appetite and weight (once the insu has been dealt with). I think cavvies and rabbits would be a good idea, and if they don't take to it right now then you can save it for a few months until they're farther along in the switch. I'm glad they're all staying hydrated
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 10:18:13 GMT -5
OK, this morning, instead of waking up to a wobbly groggy Skeeter, he was alert and happy and playful. He's still running around now. He ate as much as Trigger this morning. They each get a bowl with about 4 oz in it. He ate more than half. Then I did .1ml of salmon oil in front and behind the .2ml of Pred. I waited until he was done eating, and done playing. He had had his drink and washed his face and was about to go lie down. I scruffed him, shot it in. He didn't gag half as much because the Salmon Oil masked it well. I put him in his crate, shoved a finger full of soup in front of his nose - he licked my finger clean 5 times and then went out to play some more.
Obviously my switching thread has turned into Skeeter watch. At this point he's the only one with a life threatening disease. Rufus's adrenal is under control and he's thriving and Candy and Rufus are healthy, fat and happy. But, I will still give updates on the others. Everyone ate very well this morning. I put a mix of slivers and tiny chunks of heart. Rufus eats the slivers, everyone else chews the slivers but will eat the tiny chunks. We're still making a little bit of progress each day.
I took Trigger for a "walk" last night. Basically, I brought him into a different room in my house and let him run wild. He war danced and dooked and even chased after me. So I told my husband that we need to do that more often. Grab all four and take them to a different room for a few hours of fun and exploring. I would give anything to have full free roam ferts, but since they are basically chew toys for my Lab/Husky mix, Lisa, that isn't going to happen.
Using Hobbit terms - today's breakfast and second breakfast consists of a base of HT Ground Carcass Quail. I mixed in slivers and tiny chunks of lamb heart. The soup part was a blend of MPC ground mutton, muskrat and a tablespoon of ground herring. I also added a tablespoon of olive oil. I blend that up and then spoon mix it with the heart and quail. Each ferret gets about 4oz in a stainless steel bowl. Candy eats less and then Trigger and Rufus go back and clean her plate for her later.
I know we talked about not mixing proteins, so that we can iron out any intolerances. However, this blend is loved by all four. They eat it well, and clean their plates. I get zero runny poops, no green poops - just solid, normal, healthy poop. So, I'm going to go with it for now.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 11:52:17 GMT -5
the gang just woke up from their morning nap and had second breakfast. Trigger, Rufus and Candy had a light snack but Skeeter ate another half a bowl!!!!! He just went to town on it - bones, slivers and all!!!! I pray he keeps this up.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 12:55:02 GMT -5
Skeeter is following Hobbit meal plan to a T: breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper. So for luncheon, he is again eating a half a bowl!!! I'm sorry I'm posting so much, I'm just so happy. I was in tears all day yesterday, and today he's making his mommy so happy.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 13:27:42 GMT -5
No problem at all about the updates! Feel free to post as often as you want! I love that you're referring to meals in Hobbit terms, I've always loved the book and enjoy the movies as well. Not gonna lie, I did tear up at your updates, I'm so happy everyone is doing well! It's fine if you mix proteins, it's just in the case that you get another odd reactive poop that I'd recommend returning to one protein at a time to narrow it down. If you're not having any issues with these proteins feel free to feed them in whatever combination you desire I'd just suggest not to mix big batches of proteins just in case. It's so good to hear how lively Trigger was in the new room! Sometimes all it takes to get them excited is something new to explore. Lately I've been letting my dog into my room for short periods of time to play with the ferrets (my room is set up in a way that I can see the dog from any point). He's very timid and cautious when in my room thankfully, as it is an area he's not normally permitted in so he's always on his best behavior (normally he's a total oaf), and the daily encounters provide all of them with good enrichment. When I can, I also take the ferrets downstairs to explore as well, although I have to be extra vigilant when I do so as the entire downstairs is an open layout with only the bathroom closed off. One day I'd love to set up a fort-type play area in our front room for them to explore. Full of tunnels, blankets, cardboard boxes, etc. I bet they'd love it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 15:54:22 GMT -5
AFTERNOON TEA: Another meal!!!! He wanted me to show you, so here is a video of Skeeter (and Trigger of course) chowing down - 4th time today!! He ate less this time, but still, this is just awesome. Sorry the video is so shaky. Its primarily Skeeter. Trigger is the lighter sable blaze on the right. Oh and even Rufus is hanging out there in the background - he's such a cutie.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 15:58:44 GMT -5
Yay! They're both eating so well And all three boys are looking good Videos are very helpful when tracking progress, so if you ever feel like recording them doing anything, feel free to post it here. It helps monitor them a lot better than pictures.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 16:15:38 GMT -5
I have a YouTube page just for them: www.youtube.com/user/owensferretsThere is one older video from about two weeks after we brought them home. Rufus is super skinny and Skeeter is looking great and running around. It was only really recently that he showed the hind end weakness but maybe its because I don't have a well trained eye yet for these things. Tell me if you think Skeeter is already exhibiting hind end weakness in this video. At the beginning, Trigger is the vocal boy under the fouton being chased by Skeeter. Trigger goes up the tunnel onto the fouton and Skeeter is the one on the floor looking around by my feet. Then Rufus makes a cameo all skinny and adrenal looking. I don't know, I mean Skeeter looks pretty strong when he's attempting to jump up on the tubes, but he waddles when he walks - does that look like early insulinoma to you? Could I have caught this earlier? I love when Candy comes out at the end to go check out my slipper and my feet.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 17:36:48 GMT -5
Just subscribed to you The video definitely showed just how thin all of them were (especially in the hips), more-so than I've noticed in pictures. I'm so glad to see how well they're doing appearance-wise now. Anyway, I am seeing him have a very slight almost limp-like gait. I don't think it's something you would have been able to notice if you weren't watching for it though. I especially noticed it when he was walking around on the blanket; the uneven surface did see a bit challenging for him to maneuver. However, it doesn't look serious, and if I had seen it I probably wouldn't have jumped to think it was insu. There's a good chance the video was taken in the very beginning stages of the disease, which unless you were closely monitoring his BG you probably wouldn't have caught. Don't blame yourself, what matters is that it was caught and is being dealt with now. <3
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 21:15:26 GMT -5
Ok so I'm such a proud mama. At about 7pm, I gathered their dishes to go make them dinner and I find Skeeter eating the bones that everyone left behind! He was chomping on them as if they were kibble. He's my first ferret to not spit out the larger bone chunks!!! He is completely different now. He must have been feeling bad for a while and now he's not.
I'm so happy you subscribed. I will make videos for you from now on. It's so much easier then trying to get them to stand still.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2014 10:40:52 GMT -5
Woke up this morning to a hungry Skeeter again. I had left a bowl of food overnight and it was half eaten. There were about 12 new poops, of varying degree, so I'm pretty sure everyone had a bite overnight. Unfortunately, I had an early meeting so I didn't have my usual hour of sitting in there playing with them. If I'm not in there, they will all often go take a nap. When I come back, they get up. It makes me feel special that I am the center of their world, but I suspect if they were free roam, they would run around more on their own *sigh*
Skeeter gagged more than usual on his meds today and then ate a little more. We have our routine where he licks soup off my fingers to get the bad taste out of his mouth. After that, he wanted to lie down. He was already awake when I got up this morning and fed them though, so maybe he's just early rising now.
Here is your Friday video. Yesterday you got to see Skeeter on video, but today it is the other three's turn to be the stars. Candy is very particular about her ball.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2014 16:37:30 GMT -5
Finally worked out the concert tickets lol, we got front row seats to see Tool in March now Anyway, yay Skeeter! I hope he continues to enjoy the bones Wasn't he the one who enjoyed the chicken (duck?) feet at the beginning? Maybe the insu made him less enthusiastic for a while. Hopefully he'll continue loving the bone and convince the others to progress in the switch Thanks for the video! They all look fantastic in a way that I can't see as well in pictures. Very healthy, even petite little Candy looks like she's got a great weight on her. She looks plumper than Theia even! Rufus' coat looks very white now minimal yellowing (and so fluffy! <3)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2014 11:27:10 GMT -5
I noticed today just how fantastic they now smell. My husband is hyper sensitive to odors and he can still smell their mild muskiness. I, on the other hand, smell nothing. Rufus's tail is particularly grapey this week. He thinks I'm nuts always sniffing his butt. He is also a little possessive. After his pred, Skeeter and I were doing his normal hiding with finger licking to get the bad taste out. Rufus came over and grabbed my hand with his mouth and tried to pull it away from Skeeter I took all 4 out to free roam the finished half of our basement today. I've never seen them so happy. We have carpeted stairs and both Rufus and Candy ran to the top and back down. They scared the heck out of me in the process. I can definitely see that Skeeter has a ways to go. He walked while everyone else ran. Rufus galloped. Trigger bounds like a small elephant and dainty Candy scampers, but little noises startle her. She scares so easily. Trigger jumped on a plastic bag and the resulting crinkle made her jump and then scurry under the nearest thing she could find. I'm so excited for you. Tool is one of my favorite bands. I'm a little jealous of the seats you got, not gonna lie. I've not yet had the pleasure of seeing them in concert. If you have front row are they actual seats or will you be in standing area? Today is the dreaded pad stick where I will attempt to do a BG reading on Skeets. I have to wait for Shawn's hangover to get a little better because right now smells, lights, and sounds are bothering him. I will need his help to do the BG. Then we'll take weights on everyone and see if Skeeter's change in eating habits have had an impact.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2014 20:05:02 GMT -5
Yeah, we have seats They're to the right of the mosh pit area. I've never seen tool live before either, they stopped touring about a year ago and I honestly thought they would never go at it again! I love A Perfect Circle too though so if they toured I'd be just as pleased lol. Haha yikes, it would suck with his hyper sensitive sense of smell for him to have to smell the ferrets while hungover. Speaking of the pad stick, I noticed your post on FB. I'm sure Euel got ahold of you (I think that's who it was), but just in case; a lot of people do the stick from the tip of the tail because it's the least sensitive part of their body for the most part and easiest to access. Just move the fur out of the way and prick. I need to find some way to block off the top of my stairs, I bet the ferts would have a blast running up and down, but unfortunately they love playing in the cat's litter box upstairs and it's always the first thing they go for Ew. Anyway, I'm so glad your gang had fun! It's funny to hear that Rufus is being possessive...What a dork
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