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Post by evedity on Dec 10, 2022 22:46:57 GMT -5
So my appox 7 year old ferret Ash is just slowing down. For the last few months she's been sleeping more. She has been eating more actually but she paces herself. I feed her separately sometimes since she is small and often gets pushed from food since the 2 boys are huge. In the last 2 weeks she has dropped alot of weight. When we let the ferrets out to play she's been going under the covers of the bed to sleep. When I play with her with the squeaky she will become excited and very slowly play with me but I have to initiate it. She's been walking around like her hip is hurting. I mean she's like a 80 grandma at this point but her sleeping more is concerning. She's still curious but I'm really seeing a decline. She isn't showing signs of pain. When she first wakes up her eyes are sqinty and she walks with her belly still on the ground before she is totally awake. I think it's old lady syndrome but I don't wanna take any chances.
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Post by Corvidophile on Dec 11, 2022 7:38:43 GMT -5
If she seems to be eating more but losing weight, it’s likely the food is going to feed a growing cancer of some sort, sorry to say. A blood test looking for increased white blood cells will point to whether or not she has either a rapid cancer or perhaps infection going on. Other than that, seven is old, and her whole body may have had enough.
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Post by unclejoe on Dec 11, 2022 20:29:22 GMT -5
sadly 7 is elderly in domestic ferrets in the US, it seems. It's one big reason that I will probably not have any more after these 2 go. Too much heartache. She's still eating and drinking and I assume using the litter box, so that's all good. Ferrets are really good at hiding pain. I've only had I think 5 out of 30 make it past 8. If you have any immediate concerns it's best to see your vet. Some things to look out for are excessive drinking, rapid weight loss, rear end weakness. I had one that lived just past 10 and had arthritis and a lot of other stuff. You could feel her joints creaking when you picked her up.
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