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Post by michelleapalmer on Oct 26, 2011 2:25:13 GMT -5
Well, I tried hand feeding him a chunk, finally got it in his mouth, and that chicken chunk went a flyin'. Not happening!  I didn't try putting ferretone on it because I was laughing too hard at his gaggy "why are you trying to kill me?!" face.  But there's some nice chunky soup in there for the night, so we'll see how he does! |
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Post by katt on Oct 26, 2011 14:14:03 GMT -5
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Post by michelleapalmer on Oct 27, 2011 17:52:05 GMT -5
He's back to not eating much again. Sometimes I catch him munching on the chunks in his soup, but it's hard for me to tell how much he's eating. I know he's consuming something. I'm going to get a little OCD and weigh his bowl before & after to figure out if he truly is not eating very much or if I am just crazy and he's eating plenty. It's a lot harder to gauge visually for me than the soup. He got fresh food today at 11am so we'll see if he made a dent in it when I get home in a few hours. Thursday evening: Doesn't look like he ate any. I am going to go a step back and go for smaller and less chunks. I am not sure what is going on, but he's exhibiting WAY more chewing behavior today, too. Maybe he's hungry? I don't know. I got him to eat a small amount of today's food by covering it with Ferretone. So... more ferretone for now I suppose. Just confused overall with what is happening! I'll keep you posted Thursday before bed: I made a small bowl of just ground chicken, pumpkin, water, ferretone and a pinch of eggshells. I really had to force him to eat it and got maybe a tablespoon down. Hopefully he snacks on the rest during the night. I am going to make a new batch of soup with new pumpkin and new everything tomorrow to see if that helps.  |
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Post by katt on Oct 28, 2011 5:20:44 GMT -5
How are his poops? Also, he might be getting tired of chicken? Personally I think he's just being stubborn - trying to get you to give him his easy soupies back the brat.  Ferrets are known to do this. Also keep this in mind...every step of the switch is an entirely new "switch" to some ferrets. So how you had to hand feed him and really work to get him to eat raw soup and eliminate the kibble? Same process goes for soup->chunks. Some ferrets put up more of a fight than others. Lucky for you Slinky is a fighter...   Stick with the current soup+chunks and hand feed him for a few meals until he starts to eat it better. Rather than back step too far, back step only enough that he *will* eat and hand feed him the chunky soup for a few days. See if he starts to eat it any better after some hand fed meals and staying at the same stage for a while so he realizes what you make is what he eats. Also, have you tried oil yet? Try giving him a little fish oil or a little olive oil and see if he likes it. If he does, you can mix a little into the meat/soupies as a healthy (healthier than ferretone, and helps with coat and hairballs) flavor enhancer. |
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Post by michelleapalmer on Oct 28, 2011 23:16:13 GMT -5
His poops aren't too happy looking! Hopefully they'll get better. I made a new batch of soup today and gave him a little with about 1/3 of it consisting of chicken chunks. We did an oil taste test earlier and he really likes fish oil and detests olive oil. I added some fish oil to the soup and he's gobbled most of it up -- That was about 3 hours ago. I'll repeat again tonight, with slightly larger chunks (like where we were before the Slinky Hunger Strike of 2011™) and I'll report back tomorrow. I think you're right about him getting sick of chicken and also just being stubborn! But mostly him being stubborn. |
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Post by katt on Oct 29, 2011 3:37:32 GMT -5
lol I'm glad he likes the fish oil. It might make his poops a little softer and stinkier. Just a heads up. It is good for him though. Let me know how he does! You might try hand feeding a small chunk coated in fish oil. (Dawn dish soap will get the smell off of your hands haha). I might not be able to get on tomorrow to reply, but I'll be back Sunday. Just have a BUSY day tomorrow.  |
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Post by katt on Oct 29, 2011 19:46:12 GMT -5
How'd he do?
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Post by michelleapalmer on Oct 30, 2011 1:13:49 GMT -5
We just had a pretty scary episode, on par with what is described in ilow blood sugar episodes. It happened out of the blue and I'm glad we were able to catch it. He was really weak, hind legs draggy, and just totally out of it. We gave him a little sugar water and tried to get him to eat soup, but he refused it. So he ate some softened kibble.
This has been the last 20 minutes of the night. Right now he is curled up in my lap, asleep. I'm scouring the boards and internets for info, so if you have any advice I'm all ears.
....
This nap seems more like unconsciousness, so we're resorting to honey on the gums. I dont know if he's just exhausted but we're waiting for some sign of life.
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Post by michelleapalmer on Oct 30, 2011 3:13:50 GMT -5
He's up and moving and eating again. We're headed to bed. More updates tomorrow.
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Post by katt on Oct 30, 2011 21:50:59 GMT -5
Oh no! I'd get him into the vet asap and have him tested for insulinoma. If he waited too long to eat that could have caused a crash. From now on we have to be extra careful to be sure he is eating regularly. If you were to hand feed him for a few days, how often and at what time intervals would you be willing/able to hand feed? Also, don't worry too much in regards to the switch. I've worked with insulinomic ferrets before. It might take a little longer, especially because he is a stubborn little boy, but it is completely possible.  We can and WILL Get him switched (and it will make a BIG difference in the insulinoma if he has it because without the carbs in the kibble he'll have less blood sugar peaks, and less crashes). Also for now let's cut out pumpkin entirely. It is great for fiber to firm up loose poops, but it is still a source of carbohydrates. We can increase the amount of eggshell powder in the food a little to help with poops if needed. Also, make sure that he has access to food all the time. If he will eat thinner soup, leave a dish of that in the cage in between meals. Let me know how much you are able to hand feed and we can make a plan from there. If you are able to hand feed every few hours it will make keeping insulinoma (if that is in face what we are dealing with) under control, and the switch both a bit easier. If not, there are other ways we can go. *hugs* I'm so sorry you have to deal with this.  Keep a close eye on him and keep me updated! I'm thinking about you guys! |
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Post by michelleapalmer on Oct 31, 2011 0:35:45 GMT -5
I think my instincts were spot on about him just not eating. He hasn't been eating, and now he's a skinny weak little thing. Part of this is his stubbornness, but it's also me moving him too fast. I can't help but feel like I nearly killed him last night. BUT I'd still like to switch him to raw, because I'd feel the same way if I kept him on kibble from now on and it shortened his lifespan.
So let's start fresh. He's been nibbling on kibble today and he's still not 100% himself yet. His poops are really soft and dark, but who knows if that's due to this whole crash or as a response to being on kibble again, or both.
I can definitely commit to feeding him a few times a day... morning and evening for sure, but my Tuesdays and Thursdays i am not able to be home mid-day. I can adjust my schedule on the other days so that I am around to hand feed more often. What is an ideal schedule?
I will take out the pumpkin for now. What's my new soup recipe?
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Post by michelleapalmer on Oct 31, 2011 2:40:23 GMT -5
Help! I'm not sure what to do. He's grinding his teeth now, which makes me think he's got some tummy issues. He doesn't have any ulcers in his mouth. But he does have black tarry stool. They're firmer than they were yesterday, but still pretty dark. I've read that it can be a symptom of insulinoma or gastric ulcers, both of which would make sense in this current situation.
So... shoud I keep soup in there? Or kibble? Should I just avoid the kibble at the point no matter what? Or just have it as a backup when I can't hand feed? Right now we've been feeding him the soup we already had (which was light on the pumpkin) with ground chicken mixed in. He's not eating it very willingly, but I dont know if he's just full or if he's not wanting to eat it for other reasons. I've been forcing him to eat and drink just to be on the safe side. But this grinding worries me. I'll be making a vet appt soon but want to do what I can in the meantime... any ideas?
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Post by katt on Oct 31, 2011 4:36:04 GMT -5
Okay right now go ahead and give him kibble back. The important thing is to get him eating. Get him stabilized, and we'll re-approach things. I think Pork might be a better approach for him too. You definitely need to get him into the vet and check for insulinoma and GI issues.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 31, 2011 9:31:53 GMT -5
Hi, katt's going to be busy for a couple of days, so I'm going to step in until then, given what happened For now, I really think we need to basically start his switch over, going more slowly for him. Give him his kibble back for a couple of days until he's more stable, and when he's out and about, hand feed him whatever type of soupie he's willing to take. You will also need to get him into the vet for blood sugar testing, and possibly antibiotics for ulcers. His blood sugar may well have crashed simply due to him not eating, but insulinoma may have been lurking in the background and the not eating simply brought it to the surface. If he reaches a point where he's crashed(drooling, staring into space, seizing, etc), give him the karo on his gums again, and when he starts coming around feed the soup within 20 minutes, or you risk another crash again. |
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Post by michelleapalmer on Oct 31, 2011 14:34:11 GMT -5
Just got back from the vet. He's lost a lot of weight and is very dehydrated. I'm doing SubQ ringers for the time being and clavamox drops. She wasn't too concerned about his blood sugar. He just isn't eating and drinking and he's a weak little thing. He looks like he's an old man. We're treating it like ulcers and dehydration and are taking it day by day.
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