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Post by Gg on Apr 14, 2018 22:10:59 GMT -5
Hey! I'm sorry for the super late reply. It has been tough but we're getting back on track. Appa is finally coming around again. He's been following my every step and laying his head on my feet when I stop. Something Mo used to do but he was always a people ferret rather a ferrets ferret. The vet said his breathing could be due to weight. He weighed at 3.8 when I took him in. The did a blood test, the sugar level came out an error so they have to redo it when I go in again. I would use mine but he wont sit still for me anymore. The salmon oil on his belly used to do the trick but now he gets fussy and his feet pads are dry and crack so when the blood spills out, it runs everywhere and the hair on his tail is too thick to see any blood. His liver count was high but they think it could be due to his weight and he's mildly dehydrated so I put more waterbowls in the room and offer him some when I can catch him. They also took a sample of what looks like an enlarged lymphnode on his neck and we're waiting for that to come back then we'll go again to look over everything. For everything else, he's been pretty okay with. I've been taking him out more and it seems like he's getting his spunk back. He also listens more! I always knew he had great hearing but man was it selective! As for foods, we can seem to get past the slivers still. I'm able to give him quail legs now without a fuss but he choked on one yesterday and now he seems scared. We're going to keep working on that. I hope all is well over there! Hows your Loki?
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Post by FireAngel on Apr 15, 2018 18:35:00 GMT -5
I'm so glad appa is doing better! I know you will keep working on his transition! Loki is hanging in there I am pretty sure he will never leave this earth! He is such a trooper.
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Post by Gg on Apr 23, 2018 11:44:35 GMT -5
His lymphnode sample came back and he's in the clear Good news! The blood test came back an error and they want to do xrays to make sure his weight isn't coming from something else. He's been getting some runny diarrhea these past two days. The doc said he was already dehydrated. Is there something I can give him like pedialyte but for ferrets? ;P We're still hitting that wall with the soup too. he won't take the chunks any bigger than a quarter of an inch but he'll eat chicken wings and the quail legs still. The diarrhea looks the same color as the normal stools. Do you think it's from the dehydration orbeing on the soup for too long? I tried another mouse and he wouldn't take it so we're going back to lamb grinds with a little bit of egg yolk on top.
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Post by FireAngel on Apr 24, 2018 11:14:04 GMT -5
It is odd that he is dehydrated if he is eating mainly soup. Yes being on a liquid diet can give you loose stools. How many meals are you offering the mouse for at a time? How long are you leaving it for him and is he getting any other food at that time? Sorry I did not reply yesterday, we helped Loki cross the bridge yesterday. 😭
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Post by Gg on Apr 26, 2018 0:05:00 GMT -5
Oh no! I'm so very sorry to hear that. Was it the insulinoma? Him and Mo are dooking in a great big meadow, eating all the cheerios in the realm. <3 I hope you're doing well, lovely. A part of his energy will always be with you. Yes, I'm not sure why he's dehydrated either. Its getting hot here but we battle this every summer and he's been good. I leave town for the weekend so I'm a little worried but I trust my roomie will take good care of him. I've only offered him a mouse once this month and left it out for an hour, put it back in the fridge and tried again but he looked less amused with it the second time. How long can they be out? It gets hot in my room and we've been getting more bugs so I didn't want to leave it out too long. I have a pinky left in the freezer. he fights me on those but we'll try again!
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Post by FireAngel on Apr 28, 2018 8:15:36 GMT -5
Yes I believe it was the insulinoma but he also had swollen lymph nodes, he got very weak last weds, was struggling with using his back legs and never rebounded so it was time to let him have peace and be healthy again over the bridge. Thanks for the thoughts ❤️ For the mouse, make sure it is bloody and every 20 minutes or so hold appa and put the bloody mouse to his lips and nose, try and get the blood smeared on his lips and nose so he licks at it and gets the taste. The mouse can be left out for 24 hours but I understand the bug issue so only do this while you are awake and then discard the mouse. Do not offer him any other food during this process and play with him a lot so he is hungry. You may need to remove some of the fur for him but the fur is good for him so only try this as a last resort. I would also do this for days in a row so he gets the picture that this is not an optional thing it is a thing he will do lol. Hope you have a good weekend!
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Post by Gg on May 4, 2018 22:59:44 GMT -5
Im sorry I hope all is well over there and you’re doing OK as well as all the other little fuzzy butts. He’s kind of used to the blood now! But not the chunks ( I cut it up and put in soup) I missed the part about doing it for days!! So if he doesn’t eat within a 6 hour bracket should I use the soup again?
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Post by FireAngel on May 5, 2018 10:06:58 GMT -5
No, just keep offering him the mouse until bed time then you can leave him some soup for the night time. He is healthy so this will not harm him. I would not have recommended it for mo though. Everyone is well here I got Loki back yesterday, I never would have guessed picking up would be as hard as letting him go! They sent beautiful things with him for me.
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Post by Gg on May 15, 2018 23:36:20 GMT -5
Hi there ^_^ I'm very sorry for the silence. I've been working so much and had family in town! I hope everything is going well on your end! That's really nice of your vet to do that! How's the business? Things are well here although Appa is being really finicky and a challenge to kick off the soup. I discovered he likes it really watery and mainly soup with chunks of meat. Sometimes he eats the meat, sometimes he doesnt but the other day he ate a full inch chunk of chicken thigh! I have a thicker soup for him also for a heftier meal since the other once is watery. Hes been approaching the bowl himself more often too. He wouldn't eat the mouse but I'm still putting it out for him to get used to the smell and taking away the soup. Everything is going well over here, extremely slow, but we're getting somewhere. I feel bad about not replying sooner. Since things are going alright with us over here I don't mind handling it from here. You've taught me everything that's come in handy with all of this so far! I think I got it. I know I'll need you for future complications but for now, I can drop by and let you know how things are once a week.
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Post by Sherry on May 18, 2018 7:15:35 GMT -5
Hi Gg FireAngel is having some personal issues atm, so I'll be stepping in until she can get back here. Can you let me know exactly where everyone is at right now? You mention Appa eating soup with chunks- what size are they, how many, etc?
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Post by Gg on May 20, 2018 0:54:55 GMT -5
Hi there! I hope all is well on her end! I just wrote a response to Fireangel explaining that Appa is a stubborn boy and isn't moving along the process as fast as some other ferrets on here but we're getting somewhere with each day. So far I've tried smaller chunks, filling the bowl with those gradually and less soup..didn't like that lol. So then we did same amount of chunks but slightly bigger and he'll sometimes eat the chunks and other times they get tossed out of the bowl. I still feed him chicken and quail wings so he get his crunch on and also brush his teeth 3 times a week. We've been to the vet a handful of time this past month for the normal check ups and all the vets say he's healthy. After losing Momo he downspiraled for a while but we were able to get him playing and eating again. Back to food! I still put out a mouse/pinky every day and dab a bit of blood on his nose to get used to the taste and smell but he isn't approaching the carcass. It's an extremely slow process and FireAngel was able to recommend some really good tricks but no one outsmarts this kid. So I offered to take over from here and check in once a week on the progression and other things until I can get him over this hill. If you think that's alright, I can tag you when I update until FireAngel comes back.
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Post by Sherry on May 20, 2018 7:14:48 GMT -5
If that is what's working for you that's fine. I'll bookmark this thread to watch how is he doing with organs/hearts etc?
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Post by Gg on May 21, 2018 15:37:43 GMT -5
He's pretty good at eating them in chunks in the soup. I know I've asked fireangel this before but I was wondering your intake on it.. can he be on a soup diet with chicken and quail wings for the rest of his life? he's 6 now and active. I brush his teeth consistently also.
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Post by Sherry on May 23, 2018 8:06:55 GMT -5
He would be missing a lot of nutrients he would get from other proteins and bones. What exactly is in the soup? And how many proteins is he now eating?
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Post by Gg on May 24, 2018 16:59:03 GMT -5
We're on 4 different types of meat although quail is one of them. He eats brain and i rotate that with liver. Hearts are chicken and then bone meal. I brush his teeth 3 times a week and alter the bone meal depnding on how many chicken wings or quail wings he gets. Does that sound okay?
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