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Post by jodie50 on Jun 19, 2018 7:31:35 GMT -5
I've just picked up my two boys, they are only seven weeks as their Mother killed all the others bar one last weekend.
It's a long time since I've had ferrets but they seem quite subdued and quiet, and very small.
I'll post pictures when they wake up!
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Post by Blue on Jun 19, 2018 13:17:10 GMT -5
Aww, poor bubs! 7 weeks is very young to be separated from their Mom, and I guess she rejected them too? No wonder they're subdued. Give them a lot of attention and love. We'd love to see pics!
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Post by Heather on Jun 19, 2018 14:42:21 GMT -5
Poor wee mites. I would be spending a lot of handling time. This is the age where they learn so much, pressure sensitivity, new foods, manners, litter box habits. Just spend a lot of hands on time with them. You're now surrogate. All farm kits are this age when they are bought at the pet store so lots of handling is the best possible thing you can do for these little ones right now ciao
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Post by lee on Jun 19, 2018 16:46:19 GMT -5
Poor little things. Hope it all goes well. welcome back to the crazy world of ferrets
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Post by unclejoe on Jun 19, 2018 18:38:13 GMT -5
Yeah, welcome back. Can't wait to see them
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Post by jodie50 on Jun 20, 2018 5:17:27 GMT -5
Sadly the slightly bigger boy has died.
The Mother Ferret had about ten kits I think, at about six weeks of age she killed half of them. She was immediately separated from them and they seemed to be doing ok but I know a couple were put down over the weekend and when I picked my boys up yesterday there was a girl left but she went rapidly down hill that afternoon and was pts.
My surviving boy -Bongo - seems quite bright and this morning is doing much more ferrety things than yesterday. He seems to have quite an appetite so I am feeding him little and often. We think he probably has swimmers disease too.
The guy I got them from is an experienced ferret keeper but he brought the Jill already mated and he now thinks she had been put back to another silver mitt which I gather isn't a good thing? (When I had ferrets before you either had a polecat or an albino!!)
Bongo is raw fed, he only seems to like chicken at the moment but I'm hoping its early days and the poor little chap has had a lot of upset in his short life so far so I am really just taking one day at a time.
Is ferretvite frowned upon nowadays? I wondered if it would help him or not.
Any suggestions gratefully received!
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Jun 20, 2018 5:37:31 GMT -5
Yes--- if it wasn't so full of sugar:(
Oh geez, such a sad story. Maybe somebody will here will have some info about what you can feed swimmers(Crazylady and Heather). Do you have a vet? I hope you can find some nutritional info. I do not know anything about that condition. Hope your little boy does ok.
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Post by Blue on Jun 20, 2018 19:41:01 GMT -5
Oh no, I'm so sorry! So sad all around. I had no idea that momma ferrets could reject their kits that late. Here's a thread on swimmers disease: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/15823/hind-leg-weakeness-baby-ferretAnd here's the most relevant info from Phaedra (she's no longer on the board): Also this with pictures of water therapy: docs.google.com/document/d/1B4Jd84mHaE4BCNr5X7kK86ZYnaNrkYov9aLwn-rEIGMIt sounds like you have him early enough that you will be able to help him overcome this. And yes -- absolutely no Ferrevite! It's sugar in a tube. Salmon oil and other fish oils (except cod) are good as treats. It sounds like a calcium supplement is a must. I used KAL Bone Meal Powder for calcium when I was switching Maisie to raw. It's human grade and you can find it on amazon. Good luck and please let us know how it goes! Poor little guy. I'm so glad he has you to look out for him. ETA: Kits are tummies with teeth! Feed him as much as he wants. Some will eat close to their weight in meat in a single day!
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Post by Sherry on Jun 22, 2018 7:38:57 GMT -5
Poor wee mites Heather you can help with this more than I. For swimmers kits they will need extra calcium, but I can't recall how much. It may have been there was something wrong with the litter, which was why mum did what she did Honestly I'd have a full exam done at the vet's.
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Post by Heather on Jun 22, 2018 10:47:22 GMT -5
Have you had the wee mites checked? This sounds like it might be more than dietary. Considering the possibility of a genetic issue and a breeding with a possible inclusion of a "fatal genetic flaw" which is an issue when you breed DEWs and some silvers I would be working closely with a vet. I'm not saying they will come up with any better answers but heart and organ issues are common in swimmer kits and you may not be able to win this fight. Swimmers can be helped with hydro therapy and extra calcium but to be honest I don't know how much extra or if it's done on an individual basis. The more you add the more chances you have of constipated kits which is a bad thing too. The other problem is organ failures which may be an issue too. Some jills will also walk away from a litter rather than expend their energy on total failure. It's unusual for a jill to slaughter a litter at this age. I'm so sorry you're going through with this ciao
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Post by jodie50 on Jun 23, 2018 0:32:33 GMT -5
Thank you so much for all your advice.
I'm feeling a lot more confident about his survival chances now as he is eating well and putting on weight.
He isn't overly active in his cage but certainly is when he comes out for cuddles and play.
He is definitely getting stronger each day.
I've started doing massage and leg stretches but not swimming yet as I'm worried about him getting cold.
Neither of the local pet shops had any calcium they said was suitable for him but when I googled it the Nutrobal supplement came up as ok?
Is there a link to how to put pics up?
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Post by Blue on Jun 23, 2018 9:03:42 GMT -5
I'm so glad to hear he seems to be doing OK! I was a bit worried. I looked up the Nutrobal ingredients, and I think they're OK? And this page talks about giving it to ferrets: www.vetark.co.uk/pages/Ferret-calcium.aspx?pageid=355As for the bath, you'd make it the same temperature as you'd make it for yourself. I'm a complete sucker, I get in the bath with Maisie figuring that if I'm comfortable, she's comfortable. Also I think it helps her feel more secure since I can hold her in my lap. So if you're a sucker you could do that too (Just a note: healthy ferrets are like cats, they don't need baths. Just water is fine but any kind of shampoo/soap is only when absolutely necessary, like when they fall in poop or something!) For pics, you need to upload the image somewhere else, on a free hosting service like imgur or tinypic. Then that site should provide you with a link you can cut and paste into here. Looking forward to seeing some pics!
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Post by Sherry on Jun 25, 2018 9:05:15 GMT -5
For calcium just eggshell powder works well. Rinse the shell after using the egg, let dry for a day or two, and grind to a powder. It's pretty much pure calcium.
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Post by jodie50 on Jul 10, 2018 7:25:39 GMT -5
Quick update on Bongo - he is growing and growing! He is very much more active, probably still not 100% right on his back legs but climbing and interacting and generally doing all the things I would expect a young ferret to be doing. This morning for the first time he climbed up onto his platform and then into his hammock, he did look rather pleased with himself 😄 He doesn't eat a lot of bone - stashes more than he eats - but minces (bone in ones) and chunks he loves. I've put some pics up on the Facebook page as I failed miserably to download any here. He has also changed colour - he's gone darker with darker bars on his face. Thank you all again for your help and advice.
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Post by Blue on Jul 11, 2018 9:03:26 GMT -5
I'm so glad to hear it! Thanks for the update
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