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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2016 22:15:51 GMT -5
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Post by gfountain on Feb 6, 2016 22:29:04 GMT -5
I'm telling you, our ferrets are communicating with each other! No one wanted to eat breakfast at my house either. I finally got them to eat some heart soup, but then they all went back to bed and I haven't seen them all day. I put their dinner in for them and one guy poked his head out to see what it was then tucked himself back under the blanket. It's been 3 hours since I fed them and no one has appeared yet. <sigh> They little ones sure know how to worry us, don't they?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2016 8:58:22 GMT -5
They must be on those computers talking or snap chat that the kids do lol Guess what....we found pork stomach last night at a store about an hour away. So, now how to do it as I have never done stomach. No additives or hormones of course. I suppose like most things rinse and slice up small.....is it considered muscle or organ for us? It was cheap too, like $2-3 a package....I bet it will be like gizzards, chewy which is good for their jaws. Did you see the poops are better for Jax....pic is both boys poops but they look normal. I worrying about giving him an egg, we had been doing an egg a week but as you know makes for slimy poop...what do you think? We have not heard about the pathology on Jax's poop yet. See ya
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Post by gfountain on Feb 7, 2016 9:28:35 GMT -5
I've never served stomach but I would just chunk it up. It's new for them, so they may need it mixed with something else at first. Stomach is organ.
I did see the poops. Sorry, I forgot to mention it. It looks much better. Egg should still be fine for him. Try mixing in some eggshell or bone meal to offset the loose poops.
I've got some information for you. It's not what I was looking for, but may be helpful when talking to the vet. I'm still going through some other stuff though. When I get it all together, I'll send it to you.
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Post by gfountain on Feb 8, 2016 15:26:22 GMT -5
I still can't find exactly what I was looking for, but maybe some of this will help when talking to the vet. This first link is not about the poop, but it's a good reference for understanding bloodwork. One thing to be aware of is that raw fed ferrets will have slightly elevated levels of Creatine and Urea Nitrogen (BUN) levels which makes their protein count higher. The vet SHOULD be aware of that difference, but if not, now you know. www.ferretuniverse.com/health/resources/understanding%20_chem_cbc.pdfThis next link is from a dog site, but the same things apply to ferret foods. www.njboxers.com/the-question-of-bacteria-in-processed-pet-foods.htmlFrom "Bacterial and Parasitic Diseases of Ferrets": On Salmonella: On E.Coli From "Biology and Diseases of a Ferret" From our own Heather Downie.. "There was a study made using kibbles and raw and it was supposed to show how dangerous raw was and point to the high salmonella and bacterial counts. It was an abysmal failure as all the participants had high salmonella count in their fecal samples and many who had lower counts were actually raw fed. It ended up being shelved and then they started doing mouth swabs instead." Unfortunately, we have not been able to find this study. I've had several people helping me search and we haven't unearthed any documentation.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2016 20:59:41 GMT -5
Well she did mention in an email that she would like us to change to single whole animal prey!! But Jax is on the oral ciprofloxcin x4doses so far...poor bugger doesn't like it at all. But he is most definitely got some issues with eating chicken. Period! !! Everytime he does he seems to pass good sized undigested pieces of meat. So our question is what type of animal has small bones that he needs to be offered in order to replace chicken. Although when he has chicken wing tips he doesn't have as bad an issue. Think because there is little actual meat on the wingtip. I am going to screenshot the lab report So that y'all can review among the admins and provide some insight for us.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2016 21:03:02 GMT -5
This is 5he the lab report on Jax's stool sample. Please let us know what you and any 9f the other admins think Thanks Jami
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Post by gfountain on Feb 11, 2016 22:21:40 GMT -5
I'll look over the report when I have more time. What does she mean by 'single whole animal prey'? Only one kind of protein?
Chicken is definitely a problem for him, but how does he do with CGH? I thought he was doing ok with that. Has that changed?
Other bone in meat options are quail, pheasant, rabbit, frog, duck.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2016 21:20:58 GMT -5
Jax is ok with CGH and we don't see the undigested food with it either, chicken mostly. We live in an area where since last July have looked everywhere for quial, frog, rabbit etc. We get lamb on occasion when it's on sale. We hope to go to Boston which is like 3 hrs from us and has a large China town soon. We have asked friends for some venison but right now only have heart,liver and little tongue. The meds, Cipro for Jax is going ok and his poops is good. He does not like it but is war dance man after it lol. Any luck on the lab results....just want to be prepared for our talk with the doctor. Menu is the same this week as last but with CGH.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2016 21:22:19 GMT -5
Yes, the vet wants 1 protein like mice mice mice mice....I told her no that mice are a treat. BTW we gave pinkies today, Jax ate it but Gomez not so much.
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Post by gfountain on Feb 15, 2016 11:53:41 GMT -5
My initial thought on reading the lab report, which was simply a bacterial overload, was confirmed by the other mentors with more experience with medical issues. All of the bacteria tested for ARE found in the intestines of all mammals. The fact that they were 'heavy' in Jax's poop means he's got an overload. That can happen with raw-fed animals or kibble-fed animals. It's a common issue at the beginning of a raw switch and even though Jax has been on all raw for a few months now, I'm not surprised to see it manifesting now. If you recall, we've suspected bacterial overload a few times when his poops would get worse. My personal opinion (and it's not backed up by science - it is JUST an opinion), is that the worse the kibble they were eating, the harder the switch is on their systems and the longer it takes for their systems to adjust. Jax's diet was about as bad as it could get before you saved his life. His gut bacteria are 'confused' and his good bacteria haven't been able to keep up. The antibiotics he's on should take care of the bad bacteria. Once he's through with the round of meds, give him kefir for a few days to help bolster his good bacteria.
Mice - adult mice - are nutritionally complete and can be a meal. Young mice and pinkies and hoppers are best to serve as a treat. Although ferrets in the wild DO eat mice, that is not ALL they eat; therefore one protein (mice mice mice) would not be an accurate representation of a wild ferret's diet. And will leave him lacking in both nutrients and interest! That would be sort of like us eating broccoli all the time, and only broccoli. Sure, it's good for us, but there is a lot of stuff that we need that just isn't in broccoli.
Do you have a large enough freezer that you could buy meat in bulk? If so, you can consider ordering online or making the longer trip and stocking up. That is what I do. When I find sales or go someplace that has foods I cannot find locally, I buy LOTS of it and freeze it. Then when I have a chance, I partially thaw and portion it so it's ready for the babies when they need it.
As long as he's doing OK on the CGH, you can keep that in his diet. Just keep an eye on poops after CGH meals.
How are they doing as far as chunk size and bones?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2016 18:39:27 GMT -5
Thanks for the info, my medical background thought the same exact thing. Gomez is doing awesome awesome, I think he got tired of Jax dipping in on his food so he actually follows us to the condo and jumps in and gobbles it up lol. No way to do mice mice mice here you know that but want to have all the info for the vet. Will do on the kefir, we still have some.
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Post by gfountain on Feb 19, 2016 10:27:28 GMT -5
I missed your last post! Have you had a chance to talk to the vet yet? What did she have to say? What does she think about Gomez's bump?
What size are the boys' chunks now? How are they doing with bones?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2016 18:39:28 GMT -5
Haven't talked to vet yet about the info you have provided regarding the lab results. Gomez's bump is back and I'm going to try to get a photo of it to email to her. Since its just a fluid filled cyst I see no reason to have her or anyone else mess with it.....aspirate as that will only cause it to refill and get bigger. Just gonna watch it and if it gets too big then perhaps have it removed. Size of chunks are about the size of my thumb ---picture to follow and bones they are doing really well with.. we are soo very proud of both boys.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2016 18:39:52 GMT -5
Gomez dinner chunks tonight
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