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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2015 20:23:00 GMT -5
What about tricking him to drinking more fluids?? Maybe add some water to his chicken? Pedilyte, maybe with some chicken juice ?? Egg with water mixed in ??
He might be condition to think water is gonna hurt
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Post by Heather on Sept 3, 2015 22:20:45 GMT -5
Was he ever put on antibiotics? ciao
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Post by Sherry on Sept 4, 2015 10:48:19 GMT -5
The mouth/throat ulcers appeared to respond well to colloidal silver. The one time I could see a red spot on the roof of it mouth I dabbed it 3X a day with a qtip moistened with the CS. When I couldn't, I(have a spray bottle) did 4 or 5 sprays on top of about a half tsp of soup and fed that 3X a day. That seemed to help it heal up.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2015 12:03:37 GMT -5
Thanks again everyone. I purchased some CS. It's only 10ppm. I gave him his first dose this morning, about 1cc. I'll give him up to 3cc's per day.
I've also started giving him some pepto (twice daily, .3cc). That was the dosage given to me by my vet for my other fuzzie's gastric ulcer (along with antibiotics...which I will not have access to until she gets back from her vacation on Thursday). If the CS helps in the meantime, well, I will cancel my standing appointment. If something gets worse, I have a back up vet that I can call, although I am not too fond of her.
Thank you so very much for your help. I am so amazed by everyone's kindness and helpful suggestions. I'll keep everyone posted as well. It will help others to know for future reference!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2015 23:47:30 GMT -5
I just wanted to post an update. He still has an aversion to water. He will drink water with food in it, but reacts to water by itself. He spits, shakes his head and paws at his mouth when he drinks water by itself. My vet has no idea what is going on. I've shown her his reaction by putting a bowl in front of him at the vet's. I'm just so frustrated and confused. He is still curious, plays etc. We are treating it as if it's an ulcer so he's been on antibiotics, sucralfate and pepcid ac since Thursday. I've seen no change in him at all since then. If it's an ulcer, when should I see some relief? I've spent probably over 5k on him alone in the last 3 years. I just spent 1300 in the last month. I'm running out of resources and sanity! I can't afford to start over with another vet. I'm super lost. Thanks again for any ideas / thoughts etc.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2015 4:40:19 GMT -5
Can u post a video?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2015 9:14:42 GMT -5
Are you located near a school of Veterinary Medicine? I know that you don't want to start over with another vet, but perhaps yours can consult with a larger university who sees a lot of small animals. See if you can get video of the behavior. Have you tried bottled water? I live in the Midwest, and I know the flavor of our water can vary with regard to how much rain we get, etc. More rain means more runoff from the farms into the water supply. That leads to the water people treating it with more chemicals. Maybe your fuzzy is just sensitive? I hope you find an answer soon!!
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Post by Sherry on Sept 22, 2015 10:39:19 GMT -5
First- please STOP the pepto. The ingredients changed a while back and now have an aspirin base to them, which will make ulcers worse.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2015 11:40:35 GMT -5
hows his teeth? sounds like he could have a sensitivity to the water. have you tired him with lukewarm water versus cold. Also another thought, they are 2 year olds right? do we think he is smart enough to realize that if he acts like the water bothers him he gets attention and more mommy time and yummy treats? (yuck to pepto in my opinion.) have you tired him with chicken broth or something else? I keep thinking this sounds like the dog drooling by the sound of the bell from my pysch class-- he might have you trained.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2015 22:41:16 GMT -5
Hey all, posting a sad update that I wish I didn't have to post. I had to put my beautiful baby to sleep yesterday. Hunter was such a special little soul, and I am utterly heart broken. In the last week, he began to refuse food completely. He lost A LOT of weight FAST, and developed neurological symptoms (probably related to the Flagyl). He no longer accepted force feeding, and was extremely unwell. He was gagging/ pawing at his mouth/ tooth grinding/ hiding etc. Over the course of the last few months, he had this teeth cleaned, was on ulcer meds, had an aspirate taken of a lump in his abdomen, and had an ultrasound. These tests/ treatments did not help him, nor did they pinpoint the source of the problem. I spent upwards of $2000 in the last few weeks. My vet kindly agreed to do an autopsy free of charge. It turns out, he had a tumor in his esophagus that was constricting his throat, and causing the symptoms. It also likely affected his GI motility, causing his stomach to empty improperly. The vet said the only way we could have found out was probably through an MRI. She said it did not look to be in an area that was treatable (mid throat). She doesn't know the type of tumor, but said it could be a lymphoma or adenocarcinoma (among other possibilities). I feel terribly that his last few days consisted of doses of the horrible Flagyl. That was something I had insisted on, so my guilty feelings are overwhelming. I think I've been in denial for a while, looking for tiny glimmers of hope everywhere. I so hoped it would have been an ulcer that was treatable. Thank you all for your suggestions and help. I've posted here so people with fuzzies with similar symptoms can find answers faster than I did. Hug your special buddies extra tight today. Hello everyone, I'm a new member, but a long time lurker. I'm having an issue with my little furball that is very concerning and confusing. It started two weeks ago. My little Hunter (turning 6 next month) loves water, drinking it, playing in it, spilling it. I noticed one day when he sat down to take a drink, he started spitting it out, and made a face as though it was painful to him. I checked his mouth, and he appeared to have some tartar. These symptoms continued for a day or so. Whenever he would take larger gulps, he would shake his head, spit it out, and almost start foaming as if out of disgust. I called my vet, and brought him in. She said it's likely related to his teeth, so we booked him in for a cleaning. They extracted one loose tooth. While he was there, she took some blood, and his kidney levels were slightly off. She took a sample of his urine, and that one turned out normal. She thinks that he may have been slightly dehydrated due to his aversion to water due to the probable tooth pain. Anyway...and this is a long and bizarre story, as she went to take some urine from what she thought was his bladder...it turns out...it was a lump on his spleen. Okay, so she calls me, and I tell her to take an aspirate. She's on vacation now, but I called her office and made them give me the results. They were normal spleen cells. His spleen is not enlarged, and he doesn't have enlarged lymph nodes anywhere. I brought the poor little man home, and after the teeth cleaning/ extraction---the problem seems to have gotten worse. I'm afraid he will become completely dehydrated from his aversion to water. He is doing the same thing...takes a sip, shakes his head, spits, grinds his teeth, and foams at the mouth, and then goes about his day. I'm so worried, and completely at a loss. That visit cost me $1300. I'm not sure what else I can do? I can't even speak to the vet until next week when she is back from her vacation. I have been giving him water from a syringe, which he takes okay. He has been eating as per usual, but I do notice that he may have started eating less in the last few days, and appears to be losing weight. There is nothing strange in his mouth or throat. I have had ferrets for 10+ years, and I have never seen this before. He doesn't have seizures (not insulinoma) and doesn't grind his teeth, other than immediately following drinking water. His poops are not tarry (not ulcer). Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
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Post by Thérèse on Oct 27, 2015 4:42:21 GMT -5
I am so sorry to hear that Hunter had to be helped to the bridge. Do not beat yourself up about what happened. You did everything you could to help Hunter and he knows and appreciates the love you showed him, including the ultimate act of love by helping end his suffering.
Thank you for all you did for him and also for allowing an autopsy to be done, and thank you to your vet for doing it. Hopefully this will help some other ferret in the future.
You are in my thoughts and I hope that you can find solace and that the pain of Hunter's death and the preceding trauma diminishes so that you can remember your boy in better times and the wonderful bond you shared can warm your heart.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2015 4:59:32 GMT -5
I am so sorry for the loss of your little Hunter. My heart goes out to you. Try and not fret over the flagyl. You wanted so bad for your baby to get well, and you did the best you could with what knowledge you had. Thank-you for posting results of the findings--more knowledge to help us take care of our little ones. DIP Hunter. You were loved and will be greatly missed.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 27, 2015 10:37:53 GMT -5
I am so, SO sorry for your loss Hindsight is a good thing when it lets you know what you could have done differently. But honestly as this tumour didn't show, you couldn't have done anything other than what you did. Don't let it eat at you. DIP Hunter, fly high and free little one :wave2:
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2015 0:09:48 GMT -5
Thank you for the kind words.
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