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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2015 20:09:48 GMT -5
Well my vet didn't say anything about exercising I got that from reading the posts that you mentioned. She really doesn't know all that much about ferrets but did and does consult with 2 " ferret specialists" which could or could not know what they are talking about. I'm sure you know what I mean. Otis can't push with his legs which I find odd. If he's on the floor or I'm holding him he pulls them in and he stretches them all the way out but that's it. If I hold him off the ground and lower his feet to the floor he does nothing. He doesn't tense up, he doesn't reach with his toes or feet. Nothing. They are just hanging there. His hind legs are always more active right after his Pred shot which is normal. He also moves them well after a water exercises or a rinse due to poos. He can control his poos, I think, I just need to learn the signs he's trying to tell me. His tail wags like a cat which I don't recall him doing before but I can't remember. He does like water but I think he's a little nervous bc only half of his body is working. I do make the water warmer for them. I'm always afraid it's too warm but so far so good. He does crawl around a little and he doesn't seem to have a problem pulling his way through the tubes at playtime. He's sleeping more than usual but eating like a pig I need to find and try some different toys for him to play with. I don't want him just lying around being depressed all day. I've tried teaser toys, balls, noise toys, towel rides but he really doesn't seem that enthused. I need to do some research and some trial and error. I am so glad that I rescued him bc I know the previous owners would probably have been him down. They just didn't have the time, knowledge, support system and the children who owned them were very young. He's got so much life in his eyes and I'm totally in love. So please tell me what I need to do and I'll do it. I want to give him the best life he can with or without his legs.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2015 0:38:48 GMT -5
Here's a couple of ideas, (my Teddy acts similarly). I put up a line across his play area, on the line I string several of his favorite teaser toys (cut from the stick). They can be pulled the length of the pen and he can try to stash them, or he can roll over and terrorize them as they hang above him. I also have layers that he crawls on: a rug, a mattress pad, a sheet, and a towel or wubbie on top of that. He loves to find a loose edge of sheet and crawl under that and/or the mattress pad. (I have a double layer of plastic under the rug in case of accidents.) Favorite stash toys that are small enough he can still carry them are good too. Crinkle tunnels, especially the 4" diameter type are his favorite. Scritchy stuff like natural fiber doormats are good for the body scratches that he can't do now too. What are those water exercises you were doing? I'm trying to get more movement in Teddy's back legs/hips/spine to strengthen the muscles.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2015 9:15:34 GMT -5
Thanks @boojum01. Great idea. Well we are at the beginning so he's learning to feel comfortable in water without the use of his back legs but I am hoping to float a few treats in a small dish and have him swim to them. Also working on resistance on his back legs. He sometimes resists but mostly he curls his toes. He was the most active yesterday and dragged himself behind the couch which is great. I have seen limited crawling like a baby and I hope he continues.
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Post by ferretbrah on Mar 3, 2015 12:09:14 GMT -5
That's good news!
Are you going to look into making a wheeling cart for him to get used to as well during play time?
You could make the back wheels rotate to make turning easier.
I would think he would still have to be out of it a lot and crawling to keep muscle as much as possible.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2015 13:58:58 GMT -5
ferretbrah. No im not going to use the cart right now. I want him to build muscle strength and Im hoping he will get some use back in his hind legs. If I make it easy for him he may not recover as well. Im still working with him daily and its only been a few days. He is getting around better each day but I've not seen him do anything but drag his back legs the last couple of days. I have no idea why. Im still trying to find something I can bribe him with to encourage him to move.
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Post by Heather on Mar 3, 2015 15:33:48 GMT -5
Have you started the water therapy yet? Make it deep enough (or shallow enough) that it removes the weight from his legs but too shallow to just allow him to float around (hope that makes sense). I would have thought you would be seeing some use of the back legs by now. I believe it was about 3 or 4 days for Captain Jack. It may have been a bit longer for Mayhem but he almost died that night so the amount of damage may have been more ciao
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2015 14:04:01 GMT -5
Heather I took some video of Otis this morning so you could see his movements. Once I figure put how to post it on YouTube I'll send you the link. I've been doing water therapy but I have no idea what I'm doing. I've tried varying depths with no success yet. I started shallow just to get him used to water and I raised it each time. If I fill the water so his feet barely touch the bottom he uses his front legs only, if I put enough water just so he sort of floats but his feet done don't touch the bottom he ferret paddles with his front legs only. If I add even more water he's content just floating not moving any of his legs. I move his legs in the water stretching them out and doing a bicycle motion and he doesn't pull away and just let's me go. If I raise him out of the water and go to put him back in he does reach with his back feet and he doesn't tense up at all. Now, please don't think I'm a bad ferrent, if I hold him on his back with his belly up and run his back feet under cooler water, he moves them like crazy. He pulls them in and out, he makes a bicycle movements with his back legs and curls his little toes. I'm not sure if this is ferret torture or not but please let me know. He doesn't squeal or get loose at all. It's the ONLY way I can get him to move his d*mn legs. He's quite content dragging them behind him on land. He even attempts to climb on the couch and drags himself to the stairs, which is forbidden to use right now but I'm glad he, at least, shows interest. I have them all on the main floor where I can see their every move (my house has a very open floor plan) and he plays with my other ferts, drags himself through the tubes, behind the couch, to the plate for dinner and other ferret fav places. Is he lazy? Am I missing something? He will have been here almost a month so I'm not sure how he was before I got him. I know he trusts me now and I've built a strong bond with him through all of this which is great. Once my husband gets home I'll have him take a video of Otis when I run his feet under cooler water. I will also add he eats like a pig, poops are normal and he pees just about every time I pick him up. He's still on .5 carafte .5 Pred and .2 of clavomox twice daily.
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Post by Heather on Mar 4, 2015 15:59:08 GMT -5
I'm thinking that from his reaction to cooler water that at least he does have some use of his legs, lazy little sod. I will see if I can call up some Aussies who've dealt with swimmers. They too use water therapy and they've got videos that might prove beneficial to you. Even though the issues are miles apart it's still trying to get them to use their back legs. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2015 16:55:54 GMT -5
Heather exactly. I can't find anything that will force him to use his feet other than colder water. I also find it so confusing. Why can he move them every which way from Sunday with cold water and then drag them everywhere else? Is his brain not making the connection? His toes are pink and warm and he obviously can feel and move them. I've tried treat, toys, obstacles but nothing is working. I do not want his muscles going into atrophy. I'm not sure how long that takes but is know it's irreversible.
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Post by unclejoe on Mar 5, 2015 9:54:12 GMT -5
I wonder if you could use a Ferret Flyer as a gait trainer. Take off the rear sling so his back legs can move and the cart supports his weight.
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Post by Heather on Mar 5, 2015 16:11:23 GMT -5
This is one of the answers so far: Leg pedalling and stretches as well as massage of the limbs helps considerably. The leg stretches need to be long stretches where the leg is extended in each direction as long as it can go. Stretches should be done after massage and pedalling exercises and it's best to start with the massage of tendons and muscles in each leg, over shoulders and pelvis and gentle twisting of the torso, then do pedalling and then stretch to finish. Care will have to be taken with torso twisting bec and of his spine issues. I've used this technique on older swimmers ferrets that are extremely stiff and slow moving and had them war dancing, running and so on within a few weeks. These should be done every second day, preferably alternating with water therapy. They can also try guided walking by supporting the belly while allowing the ferret to walk around the floor, sometimes this helps to alleviate any pressure or discomfort from the spine. Any questions I'm more than happy to answer and hope he makes a speedy recovery. Hope this helps. Let me know if you've got any other questions ciao
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2015 17:00:21 GMT -5
Heather. Thank you! I am doing the stretching and the bicycling movements already but I'll do the massage and stretching as well. Should I do that a couple of times a day or is that too much? He moved his legs the best today and I was so excited. He actually used them to move for about 6 minutes. I know it's not real long but it's a start. He's not liking the belly rinses from pee belly but oh well. I can't have him stinking like pee dragging himself all around my house. Thank goodness for steam cleaning. His attitude is improving everyday. I was worried about him getting depressed watching everyone else run around but I'm less concerned each day. I am really hopeful that he will be better soon. I miss him getting into trouble and stashing to his hearts content.
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Post by Heather on Mar 5, 2015 17:10:56 GMT -5
I used to do the stretch and massage at least daily. I used to find that if he'd been particularly strenuous (running down the hallway), he seemed to seize up and not want to use his legs. Captain Jack would get playing with the other ones and a lot of the play was in the sitting and dining area but if they got hall running then Jack would try. Often he'd place himself in the middle of the hall and trip up anyone dashing by but after strenuous play he'd go find some place to sleep. Often when he woke up he'd have lost his legs again. I would catch up with him and lay him down and give him a massage and stretch this seemed to help him find his legs again and he'd be off again. I'm also a Reiki practitioner and this type of gentle healing helped too. ciao
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Post by unclejoe on Mar 6, 2015 9:24:11 GMT -5
We use baby wipes for pee belly. Then you don't have to towel dry.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2015 23:15:07 GMT -5
An idea for letting him wander around and save your carpet is to stitch together a couple mattress covers/pads or use some fleece blankets from walmart. Both repel liquid and protect your carpet from unnecessary staining. I have large ones patched together specifically for the purpose. It's so much easier to throw them in the washer than steam clean my carpet. I really try to avoid letting him on the installed carpet also. Of course that's all he wants to do just because it's forbidden.
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