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ECE???
Apr 28, 2011 21:38:45 GMT -5
Post by kristinb on Apr 28, 2011 21:38:45 GMT -5
I just got over treating my ferret for ECE/Intestinal Bowel Diesease. They were never sure which it was. But I am now an expert at giving Sub Q fluids to a ferret alone So, if you wind up having to do that at some point the way I did it with Jinx was i put ferretone in a bowl in front of her, and while she was licking it I would pinch the scruff near her shoulders, put the needle in almost horizontally, and then place my hand that was doing the pinching under her front legs and looped my finger and thumb around the top of her body so that if she did freak out I had some control over her, and then would slowly inject the liquid. Usually she had no reaction at all, never once to the needle going in but sometimes to the fluid when it first went in. But the ferretone trick worked almost everytime, and I was giving her sub Q injections 5 times a day (6mls) per time. As for food, the vet gave me some A/D cat canned food which i was trying to syringe to her but she hated it, so I cooked up some chicken and pureed it, baby chicken food, pumpkin, the cat food, ferretone, little bit of oil, and I think that's it and I only needed to force feed that to her for half a syringe and she began eating it voluntarily. As for the meds, she hated that always so I always had some of the food concotion ready for her to eat immediatly after the meds to get the taste out of her mouth. I was told the most important thing about treating ECE was to get lots of fluids to flush through her, so I was giving over 21mls of fluid sub Q a day, on top of what she was voluntarily drinking on her own. I began to notice improvement within 48 hours of doing this aggressive fluid/meds/food treatment as far as her energy etc. (She was so illy in less than 12 hours she wouldn't move voluntarily). It did take over 2 weeks for her to return to normal. Hope this helped in some way! You could try the butterfly attachments for the sub q's too, but i found this made it more difficult for me.
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ECE???
Apr 28, 2011 21:41:50 GMT -5
Post by kristinb on Apr 28, 2011 21:41:50 GMT -5
She also had an xray done, and it showed that the walls of her intestine had thickened, which was a sign of bowel disease or ece i was told (bowel disease for sure, but i thought ece too), so if someone can confirm that maybe an xray will help?
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ECE???
Apr 28, 2011 21:44:59 GMT -5
Post by valkyriestorm on Apr 28, 2011 21:44:59 GMT -5
Just found more green runny poo again! And I have having such a hard time giving him his meds. Never had such a had time with any of my animals like this. I know how to do it and I am doing it right but he just hates me putting the meds in his mouth or just does not like the taste at all. I feel like I am hurting him scruffing him had all the time and he tries to wiggle out of it and paws at his mouth
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ECE???
Apr 28, 2011 21:51:37 GMT -5
Post by valkyriestorm on Apr 28, 2011 21:51:37 GMT -5
Thanks kristinb. That helps me. I might have to cancel Skunkers tooth getting pulled and bring Thomas into this vet instead and get blood work done and an Xray. Question? can I mix his medication with his food, if I syringe feed him? I will wet his kibble and use that
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ECE???
Apr 28, 2011 21:57:34 GMT -5
Post by miamiferret2 on Apr 28, 2011 21:57:34 GMT -5
That sounds like flagyl which is disgusting. That med is a ferrets worse enemy. In the past I have used baxium, amoxicillyn, chloramphenicol. Flagyl is used to treat ulcers and helicobacter. But I stay away from it. There is nothing worse than seeing your ferret run away from you bc they hate the meds. You kind of lose that bond for awhile We haven't had ECE outbreaks here in a while either. It was a big problem in the 90's. If he's eating and digesting his food, that is good. I would give him plain yogurt with probiotics or keffir. However, I'd still take him to the vet for cbc blood test, and fecal. Check for parasites (giardia, coccida). I would lay off the hard kibble for now. Give it to him in a soup form. Just soak it in water and make a puree. How old is he? Often times, a ferret's gastrointestinal issues go unnoticed for a while because they are vague symptoms. Ferrets are stoic animals. They can mask illnesses well. It is a natural defense that they have. In the wild, a weak, sick animal will be in trouble. usually the gastrointestinal issues (diarrhea, ulcers, boating, gas) are present because of some other underlying medical problem that is causing stress. So you really need to keep a close eye on him.
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ECE???
Apr 28, 2011 22:04:04 GMT -5
Post by valkyriestorm on Apr 28, 2011 22:04:04 GMT -5
He is three. That is not one of the meds he is on. I listed the ones he is on, on the first page. I just put him back in the cage and he shoot green poo everywhere. He is not even using his litter box anymore. I dont know how much more of this I can take. I am constantly cleaning up green poo a few times a day. I am calling the vet asap in the moring
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ECE???
Apr 28, 2011 22:10:29 GMT -5
Post by Heather on Apr 28, 2011 22:10:29 GMT -5
I think that's an excellent idea, a trip to the vet is indeed in order. One of the side-effects of some medications is runny, gassy poops. You can also get gross green poops from medications too ciao
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ECE???
Apr 28, 2011 22:10:41 GMT -5
Post by Sherry on Apr 28, 2011 22:10:41 GMT -5
Ah, he's getting metro. I had to stop that one, simply because it stressed Boris out so much his poops actually became worse, instead of better. Try to go for a different antibiotic. My vet told me it's not uncommon for metro to actually CAUSE ulcers to develop because of the stress of giving them.
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ECE???
Apr 28, 2011 22:18:58 GMT -5
Post by valkyriestorm on Apr 28, 2011 22:18:58 GMT -5
This sucks I just wasted 105 bucks at the vets that did nothing for Thomas and fifty bucks today taking skunkers to get looked at before his tooth surgery that he is now not getting. And yeah I totally feel like I am stressing him out tuns more givivng him all these meds. I stopped the metro the first day after I gave it to him. Now when I put thomas back in the cage all he wants to do is get out
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ECE???
Apr 29, 2011 6:54:05 GMT -5
Post by kristinb on Apr 29, 2011 6:54:05 GMT -5
I'm not sure about mixing the med you have with food or not, but I couldn't see why it would be na issue as long as you ensured he ate ALL the food? Someone contradict me if I'm wrong though. Jinx was on Chlor-Palm when she was ill and it really did wonders for her. She wasn't thrilled with taking it, but it straightened her right out along with the fluids. Get an IV bag from the vets, I kept mine suspended off the banana holder i just tried to make lots ofpositive experiences with petting and ferretone when I had to force her the meds. I can post thep ic of Jinx's xray too if you need it for comparison or anything.
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ECE???
Apr 29, 2011 10:22:04 GMT -5
Post by valkyriestorm on Apr 29, 2011 10:22:04 GMT -5
Any recomendations on what testing I should get done So they don't do any testing that is not worth it and I don't waste money on ?? I go in later today after six. I mean is it even worth going to the vet for if it can't be treated and cured? I mean there is not even testing for it right?
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ECE???
Apr 29, 2011 11:27:39 GMT -5
Post by kristinb on Apr 29, 2011 11:27:39 GMT -5
I was told there is no way to test for it. But the xray did show that the lining of her intestine had thickened which the vet said was either bowel disease or ece. Apparently treatment for both was the same, aggressive fluid therapy and the Chlor-palm. Soni don't know perhaps the dray would be a good idea? That way if it doesn't show a thickening then maybe it is something else? Again Im not sure what else it could be, the other more experienced ladies would know better than me. But the Chlor-palm worked wonders and I think the fluids are what saved jinx in the end as she was extremely ill. There's bloodwork that could have been done, but they put her under anestetic and still couldn't get a vein to draw blood. So I don't know how worth it that would be in tour case.
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ECE???
Apr 29, 2011 11:33:51 GMT -5
Post by miamiferret2 on Apr 29, 2011 11:33:51 GMT -5
yes metronidazole and flagyl are one and the same. it is absolutely disgusting and bitter tasting. causes more stress to the ferret than it is worth. if you are going to try an antibiotic for a ferret try amoxicyllin, baxium (chlorythromycin) or biaxin. i guess you are in canada so the drugs there may have different names. i am in the united states.
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ECE???
Apr 29, 2011 12:17:45 GMT -5
Post by valkyriestorm on Apr 29, 2011 12:17:45 GMT -5
No I am in the states too. I also have the amoxicyllin. Vet said it only works good when both amoxicyllin and metro are given. Not just one of them
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ECE???
Apr 29, 2011 14:39:53 GMT -5
Post by katt on Apr 29, 2011 14:39:53 GMT -5
Oh man he is buggin bad when i gave him the liquid Metronidazole, he is not happy and I don't wanna stess him more. He was screaming and pawing at his mouth bad Koda HATED that stuff. What I did was mix it in a little bottle cap with a TON of FerretVite (ferretone will work as well) and then suck it into the syringe like that. Then I covered the syringe from end up the length of the syringe about halfway with huge globs of ferretvite (this works better than ferretone because it is gloopy and not a liquid). I would let him lick the 'vite off of the end, and then as he continued to lick it move it to the corner of his mouth and then squirted it all into his mouth (back corner - not straight in) and quickly gave him another glob of 'vite to lick to help keep him from spitting it out. Because he was already in the process of licking/swallowing he would swallow the meds unintentionally, and then the extra glob helped push the rest down (and keep him from hacking it back up). It took some practice and many days the metro ended up all over me and my room as he shook his head to spit it all out, but this was the method that worked the best for me. NOTHING else I tired worked. And I tried a LOT of different methods - he was on these meds for a long time.
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