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Post by Charlie on Jan 11, 2023 23:28:50 GMT -5
Well, it was a long day at the vet. We were there for 3 hours. She checked Charlie over, felt around and made the same observation as my vet in that his spleen was enlarged and she too, could also feel something there. Then getting blood work done was a 1 hour challenge. They tried, at first, without any sedation, with no luck and then used a mild sedation which I think they missed the window because he was squirming too much. So they then used a stronger sedative. He was dopey alright. They got the blood work done. Next they took him for X-rays. We were waiting for the blood work to come back with results. He then went for an ultrasound. The blood work came back and it showed he did have inflammation. Some of his numbers were low but she told me about so many of them I forgot what they all were. His BG was good though, so no insulinoma. Then she took me in to see his X-rays. His heart was good, and lungs were clear and his spleen covered a big area but in that area, there was a mass in there that you could see a faint outline of an oval. Without doing a biopsy it's safe to say he has some type of tumour/cancer there so he was put on prednisone. Now the hard part is administering the medication. He has lots of energy tonight so giving him the medication was difficult. I had to scruff him nd even then he used his paws to aggressively push it away. Not sure how much I even got into his mouth. The vet put him on the lowest dose to start. She gave me a 3 month supply knowing I do live far away. But I can also go to my vet here. The vet said she would also forward all the information to my vet. My vet was right, it was his spleen. The vet I saw today did say that removing the spleen would be risky at his age now. She said, depending on the mass, the prednisone could shrink the mass but he has to take the medication for the rest of his life, which I already knew. She said once it stops working that we can increase the dose but once that stops working than it might be time to make that ever so difficult decision. I also asked if he should get his rabies shot in the summer and she said we will wait and see. If he isn't well, probably not and same with the DES implant.
Of course the prednisone she gave me is chicken and Charlie doesn't like chicken.
So how long were your sick ferrets on prednisone before you had to make that decision? I was getting the vibe that maybe I might get another 3 months (hence the 3 month supply) left with him.
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Post by Corvidophile on Jan 12, 2023 12:57:29 GMT -5
Don’t take the three month supply too grimly, 90 days worth of meds is the most that they can prescribe at one time in most places. Does he actively have adrenal disease, or is the implant a preventative? If he has adrenal I would keep implanting at his regularly scheduled times, but if it’s a preventative I would let it lapse. No need for rabies either at this point. Wait, aren’t you in the UK? I thought they didn’t do the vaccine there anymore because of the eradication in the wild?
There are two main ways to get liquid meds into a struggling ferret and both involve two people, a handler and someone dispensing the meds. One is to scruff and hold the front legs so they can’t push away while the medicating person gets it between the back teeth, and the other way is to have the handler wrap the ferret in a towel all the way up to the head and hold them steady. Then squirt the meds into the side of the mouth between the back teeth. You might be able to do the towel thing with just one person if you wrap him tightly enough and hold him under your arm against your body.
They can live with enlarged spleens for a long time, it happens to many ferrets. Here’s hoping his days left are happy.
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Post by Charlie on Jan 12, 2023 18:48:40 GMT -5
Don’t take the three month supply too grimly, 90 days worth of meds is the most that they can prescribe at one time in most places. Does he actively have adrenal disease, or is the implant a preventative? If he has adrenal I would keep implanting at his regularly scheduled times, but if it’s a preventative I would let it lapse. No need for rabies either at this point. Wait, aren’t you in the UK? I thought they didn’t do the vaccine there anymore because of the eradication in the wild? There are two main ways to get liquid meds into a struggling ferret and both involve two people, a handler and someone dispensing the meds. One is to scruff and hold the front legs so they can’t push away while the medicating person gets it between the back teeth, and the other way is to have the handler wrap the ferret in a towel all the way up to the head and hold them steady. Then squirt the meds into the side of the mouth between the back teeth. You might be able to do the towel thing with just one person if you wrap him tightly enough and hold him under your arm against your body. They can live with enlarged spleens for a long time, it happens to many ferrets. Here’s hoping his days left are happy. I live in Canada so we do have rabies shots here but in my area it's only given every 3 years. We have low incidents of rabies here. I started him on the DES implant as a preventative so not sure if he has adrenal but his X-rays didn't show anything. But then again it was hard to see it from other organs hiding it. The vet suggested to wait and see at this point depending on how he is doing on the medication. Last night was hard to get meds in him but this morning I didn't put up with his fuss and just gave it to him. I had to scruff him. He didn't like it and shook his head in disgust. lol Yes, I did squirt it in the side of his mouth. Last night, I'm not sure if he got much in his mouth but this morning it went in. The vet did say that his spleen may get smaller because it's inflamed right now but being on the medication may help with the inflammation. So what did you do about the eating? Charlie is now only eating beef and pork. I may try him on pinkies because he refused the mice with fur, even the hoppers. I know that pinkies aren't a meal but if he eats them between meals that will be good. I'm hoping he will get more of his appetite back like the vet said. I'm not counting him out yet.
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Post by Corvidophile on Jan 12, 2023 19:30:06 GMT -5
Oh, must’ve mixed you up with another user, sorry, haha. Once my old Winnipeg started only eating certain meats I had to switch to mixing supplements into ground meat to keep him balanced. I used this brand: www.knowbetterpetfood.ca/ Definitely try the pinkies, they’re not a balanced meal on their own like an adult, true, but they’re still a valuable addition to the diet.
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Post by unclejoe on Jan 12, 2023 20:03:56 GMT -5
when I scruff a fert to give meds they almost always yawn which made it pretty easy. Also, the next time you have your prescription filled, ask for prednisolone. It's easier on the liver. As I mentioned, I had a several ferrets on prednisolone for over 2 years, and all lived to over 7. One made it to 10.
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Post by Charlie on Jan 14, 2023 21:13:53 GMT -5
Oh, must’ve mixed you up with another user, sorry, haha. Once my old Winnipeg started only eating certain meats I had to switch to mixing supplements into ground meat to keep him balanced. I used this brand: www.knowbetterpetfood.ca/ Definitely try the pinkies, they’re not a balanced meal on their own like an adult, true, but they’re still a valuable addition to the diet. Now that he has more of an appetite I will try other meats again too and see how that goes as well. He's got some more perk again too. I also got some nausea medication in case. I was given maropitant. It's to be given once daily. Yeah, the mice will be good roughage. lol
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Post by Charlie on Jan 14, 2023 21:16:57 GMT -5
when I scruff a fert to give meds they almost always yawn which made it pretty easy. Also, the next time you have your prescription filled, ask for prednisolone. It's easier on the liver. As I mentioned, I had a several ferrets on prednisolone for over 2 years, and all lived to over 7. One made it to 10. Charlie is stubborn and holds out on yawning. lol He actually has prednisolone so will this also be better so he doesn't get an ulcer as well? This is promising news, I hope Charlie can live another 2 years at least then too. Prednisolone is not that expensive either.
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Post by unclejoe on Jan 15, 2023 14:12:48 GMT -5
The liver has to convert prednisone to prednisolone, so you're saving the liver some work. It's a man-made steroid, so it shouldn't be too hard on the stomach. I've never had issues with it, but I try to give it at meal time.
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