|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2017 4:09:49 GMT -5
Hi...I have updated the thread with Scouts condition at the moment.... Thank you everyone for the support and care, we had been doing very well since then... however, lately scout has been sick again. One of his hind legs started to tremble, almost looked like a muscle spasm. He couldnt walk on it, and favored the other leg when walking. At times now he runs and then stops, and just lays on the ground to rest. He eats food but it has to be force fed, the only thing he really eats sometimes is chicken skin and egg yolk (he loves the yolk the most) he can poop and pee, but the main concern is sometimes after drinking water, he would cough, I believe he has coughed a total of 5 or so times in total....and today hes been super lethargic. Today one of his hind leg has been trembling again, and he just makes a whimpering sound... I checked around on google and came across this page : holisticferretforum.com/health/heart-disease/heart-disease-symptoms/ the coughing in the ferret video matches exactly to Scouts... he also has a loss of muscle mass, especialy in his hind legs...when he runs, i notice his hips looking very small and kind of pushed in, as well as his stomach looking rather round in comparison...but when we hold him up, his body looked relatively normal shape. We think the vet we went to, at avians animal hospital may have not picked up on possible heart disease? she did say there was a bit of blood in the lungs...but we seem to believe now that it could have been beneath the lungs? and right now with scout, this maybe early signs of heart disease? we aren't sure, we are just holding on by giving him fluid and food to eat, and lots of rest...but it seems like day by day he just seems more sick... Right now its really hard for us to take scout back to the animal hospital, its the only one near by and i feel like they dont really have scouts best interest in mind. I feel scammed the last time, and we are tight on money at the moment. I just hope maybe there is a way to remedy him for the time being... Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/23053/early-signs-heart-disease-scout#ixzz51lKL1P8S
|
|
|
Post by LindaM on May 30, 2017 5:24:54 GMT -5
You need to get him in to an emergency vet ASAP. Low energy like this where he doesn't want to move around or play, coupled with refusal to eat and drink could be because of a life threatening blockage (or even another medical issue). Don't lose time on this, ferrets can go downhill incredibly fast. Find a vet in your area and go. You will need to have them run X-rays to see what's going on, preferably a Barium X-ray to check for a blockage as normal X-rays can miss them. Please do not linger and waste time that could be precious. Tagging in other admins who may also be able to suggest what other things should be checked for during the vet visit. Sherry, Heather, katt, unclejoe
|
|
|
Post by unclejoe on May 30, 2017 6:00:35 GMT -5
He definitely needs a vet. There's no way to diagnose from here. You could try to palpate his abdomen to see of there is a mass caused by a blockage, but you still need a vet. I hope he's ok...
|
|
|
Post by abbeytheferret6 on May 30, 2017 8:00:05 GMT -5
Prayers for your little one.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2017 9:26:38 GMT -5
You need to get him in to an emergency vet ASAP. Low energy like this where he doesn't want to move around or play, coupled with refusal to eat and drink could be because of a life threatening blockage (or even another medical issue). Don't lose time on this, ferrets can go downhill incredibly fast. Find a vet in your area and go. You will need to have them run X-rays to see what's going on, preferably a Barium X-ray to check for a blockage as normal X-rays can miss them. Please do not linger and waste time that could be precious. Tagging in other admins who may also be able to suggest what other things should be checked for during the vet visit. Sherry, Heather, katt, unclejoeThank you for the insight we are at the animal hospital right now, in an hour and a half they will take Scout in. We will be sure to ask about the barium X-ray too. Thank you everyone. I will update once everything is completed.
|
|
|
Post by Thérèse on May 30, 2017 9:29:57 GMT -5
Good thoughts to you and Scout, hoping he will be ok
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2017 10:17:38 GMT -5
Thank you everyone. Scout got to go in early. His temperature is normal, now they are doing more tests on him, later on they will do X-rays. We feed Scout raw diet, the vet told us that he would need a mix of kibble and raw. She also state that raw food can have bacteria that is bad for the ferret, which puzzled me. Does anyone have information on this? I thought ferrets can process such things?
|
|
|
Post by Heather on May 30, 2017 11:13:50 GMT -5
Don't worry too much about the diet. Vets are terrified of it, they know nothing about the diet and they've seen it done wrong and know what it takes to fix it. Tell them to stick to their investigation on what is wrong with your ferret. Ferrets can and do process this with no difficulty at all. I've fed high risk ferrets a raw diet without any issues at all, tell them to find the "real" cause of your ferret's problems. As long as your diet is balanced the chances of it being diet related are very slim. Have they ruled out pneumonia? Good luck, please keep us posted. ciao
|
|
|
Post by crazylady on May 30, 2017 12:09:14 GMT -5
Hi I second all Heather has said all of my ferrets are fed raw even from the age of three weeks ( mush ) non have had problems and the meat I feed is often fresh killed by the ferret itself so it comes from underground with a nice coat of dust ! the acid in a ferrets stomach is designed to dissolve bone so a few little bugs arent going to cause problems I would ask the vet to check heart and lungs take care bye for now Bev
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2017 12:23:32 GMT -5
Don't worry too much about the diet. Vets are terrified of it, they know nothing about the diet and they've seen it done wrong and know what it takes to fix it. Tell them to stick to their investigation on what is wrong with your ferret. Ferrets can and do process this with no difficulty at all. I've fed high risk ferrets a raw diet without any issues at all, tell them to find the "real" cause of your ferret's problems. As long as your diet is balanced the chances of it being diet related are very slim. Have they ruled out pneumonia? Good luck, please keep us posted. ciao Yes, it puzzled me. She kept saying he need a little mix of kibble and raw. And say he need a pea protein and how he need grains... but in the end we find out it's pneumonia. Somehow he has water around his lungs and some in it too. She says she doesn't know at the moment what type of pneumonia it is, so now scout is being hospitalized overnight. They are trying to push him to be hospitalized for two nights and we really can't afford two nights... and the vet say she doesn't know if the two nights even guarantee a full recovery. I'm very stressed and worried. Scout is my emotional support and now he is in the hospital.
|
|
|
Post by Heather on May 30, 2017 13:30:53 GMT -5
Pneumonia is very dangerous for ferrets, I won't deny it My Bacchus was treated for pneumonia earlier this year, I almost lost him. It was a very tense week while I fought for him and it was a couple of weeks after that before he really started to rebound. It was intensive care with a moisture tent, antibiotics and syringe feedings several times a day and through the night. As he was on a raw diet to begin with and because I started him on antibiotics right away I was able to forgo hospitalisation and the need for sub q fluids (or an IV). We did debate admitting him but as they didn't have an overnight vet (they are checked on but not necessarily cared for) it was decided I could give better care and he would be treated in a familiar place. Good luck (don't fall for the BS about needing a pea protein...it's believed it actually causes stones in the ones susceptible to this). I will light a healing candle for your little one. {{{Hugs}}} to you both. Be strong. ciao
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2017 15:02:40 GMT -5
[/IMG].png[/IMG].png[/IMG].png[/IMG].png[/IMG].png[/IMG] My Bacchus was treated for pneumonia earlier this year, I almost lost him. It was a very tense week while I fought for him and it was a couple of weeks after that before he really started to rebound. It was intensive care with a moisture tent, antibiotics and syringe feedings several times a day and through the night. As he was on a raw diet to begin with and because I started him on antibiotics right away I was able to forgo hospitalisation and the need for sub q fluids (or an IV). We did debate admitting him but as they didn't have an overnight vet (they are checked on but not necessarily cared for) it was decided I could give better care and he would be treated in a familiar place. Good luck (don't fall for the BS about needing a pea protein...it's believed it actually causes stones in the ones susceptible to this). I will light a healing candle for your little one. {{{Hugs}}} to you both. Be strong. ciao[/quote] Oh gosh I'm glad he is ok! Thank you for lighting a candle for Scout too. We so appreciate it... I can only hope we would be able to take Scout home too... and I'm happy to hear the vet isn't right about the pea thing too, that was so offputting when she heavily insists it. And..We can only hope Scout is fine but... we just got a call from the desk lady. She gave us a message from the vet. She said that the liquid found around and in scouts lungs turned out to be blood??? I don't understand what does that mean now for scout. Or how is there blood present. We won't get another update until maybe later on or tomorrow..now I'm just more confused and worried
|
|
|
Post by LindaM on May 30, 2017 15:31:11 GMT -5
I'm so sorry. I will pray for your wee little one and that he will be alright, and also for you that you guys will have the clarity of mind and strength to make the right decisions when you need to.
Here's something to keep in mind, vets are right about one thing, the dangers of an unbalanced raw diet is incredibly severe, there's no doubt about that. BUT! When it comes to dietary/nutritional education, most vets receive a very basic course, and would you like to know who sponsors those courses? Yup, the big kibble companies, one of the biggest being Hill's.. and their products are simply horrendous, I shy away from it in the stores and at vets like it's the plague (ingredient-wise it pretty much is).
Ferrets are obligate carnivores, this means in the most simple terms that they are obligated to eat meat. They MUST eat meat. They are not scavenging carnivores like dogs, which can survive with fruit and vegetable matter. Again, the key word there is "survive" not "thrive". Carnivores will thrive on their appropriate diet of meat. Plant matter such as vegetables, fruits, and grains are not digestible to obligate carnivores.. their body has no use for this, and it can in fact lead to health concerns instead, such as insulinoma and kidney & bladder stones (the big culprits for this one tend to be peas, pea protein, and sweet potatoes).
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2017 17:01:01 GMT -5
Update... scouts fever has gotten worse. The blood drained from him helped a lot with his breathing. But now it's back in his lungs again and no one is sure what is causing this to happen. They are just treating him with antibiotics now.... and a vet will be taking him home to monitor him. I wish I knew why the fluid is coming back...
|
|
|
Post by FerretsnFalcons on May 30, 2017 17:12:29 GMT -5
I am so sorry, I really hope the poor guy pulls through.
|
|