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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2012 0:28:00 GMT -5
It seems like Pixie and Yogi bonded more and Sian and Hiko bonded more. Perhaps more physical attention from you will help more. Like when he sleeps, he sleeps with you. Maybe do the rescue remedy massage into the ears or pads of his feet. Very calming. He will still need long term attention, maybe start gradually introducing new toys so the physical associations are cut back still more.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2012 7:01:36 GMT -5
Might be the personalities. Pixie and Yogi got on fantastically, probably better than with the other four, so Yogi probably feels like he lost his mate.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2012 13:07:56 GMT -5
No doubt Yogi and Pixie were bonded - there was a reason I nicknamed them the Lovebirds. Yogi was infatuated with Pixie right away, at 13 weeks, and he never looked back, so it's not surprising he's having it so rough. I just wish it wasn't in this form of attacking another business member. I don't want to take him away from Sian and Hiko at night, since that's the time he can really settle and enjoy sleeping with other ferrets, either. Right now, I'm kind of staying on top of him and snapping him out of his fits and then applying RR. It's slow going, but I think it's working.
Sian is attached to the other ferrets, but she only really bonded with me, and her and Hiko are friends (they'll play and explore together, but they're not too attached to each other. He's a WS fert, and you can tell she notices the difference). As for Hiko I think he loves me, but not to the point of bonding, and def. not with the other guys. Maybe not for lack of trying, though, he can be such a sad puppy at times.
I'm doing the RR therapy, and as long as I put it on him ... kind of a lot things stay pretty mellow. He got me good today, and lastnight and today so far have been pretty tough for Hiko, but he does seem to forgive Yogi rather quickly when Yogi settles down (they'll sleep all wrapped up around each other).
Both Hiko and Yogi went to the vet (Sian went as company). Hiko got his spleen imaged and then aspirated, some cells were funny, so that's been sent off to the lab and I should know today whether anything is worrisome. He also got his des. implant. Yogi had a tish of an enlarged spleen, the vet said it wasn't anything being almost 4 couldn't explain, and other than that is in "extraordinary perfect" health. The vet said ferret prozac is an option, and a benign treatment in the short term, if he continues with the behavior. But, eh. I'll stick with the RR.
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Post by Sherry on Apr 6, 2012 13:47:42 GMT -5
It's so sad when they go through this. It took Boris several months to come back, but he was never the same.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2012 13:58:55 GMT -5
That's kind of what I'm afraid of, with Yogi. I would LOVE the reassurance that, while it's tough now, we CAN get him back to the happy go lucky ferret he used to be. But I know that can't happen - his heart's been broken, and we just don't know in what shape it'll heal.
I have noticed, though, that same look in his face that Pixie got after Yew died. Instead of living in the moment, they have ... more of a past, I guess you could say. It's just a look of slow, certain melancholy that never really goes away. Even when Pixie was at her sassy best she never lost that look, like she was all too aware of the loss she had suffered, even years after. Now, I see it on Yogi. I suppose it's just another sign of how amazing these critters are - that they can form such deep, lasting attachments, and mourn them when they're gone.
Even like my mom said when I told her about Yogi - they know each other in ways people just can't relate to - scent and heartbeat and every tick of the other's life, of spending 24/7 with that other being (and this coming from the woman who lost the love of her life at 25). That has to be a lot to lose.
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Post by Heather on Apr 6, 2012 15:19:01 GMT -5
I've witnessed that. It's heartbreaking really. Lady "B" and her Attila. He's been gone for years but she's never forgotten. She sleeps alone, she shares herself with no one, even though she shares space with Odin and Thor. A truly deep felt loss. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2012 1:31:10 GMT -5
Gosh this thread is making me cry ;( it's so sad how these little balls of fuzz mourn.
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Post by Heather on Apr 7, 2012 10:57:22 GMT -5
The loss they feel over a cagemate is profound, the loss over a human friend who dumps without a care can leave damaged for a very long time. It breaks my heart when I get little ones in who mourn their people (some people must give their little ones up, those are the wee ones that mourn). Little Calypso never forgot, was never able to let go. Little Atreyu, the wee boy I just rescued is just recovering from an ulcer and still runs to the door hoping it's his previous person coming for him ciao
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Post by Sherry on Apr 7, 2012 11:33:21 GMT -5
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Post by Heather on Apr 7, 2012 12:47:21 GMT -5
Let's face it...to be surrendered is a break of trust. Ferrets are all about trust. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2012 14:18:59 GMT -5
Well, today (so far, Yogi just might be saving it up for later; wouldn't be the first time) has been a pretty good day. All 3 were playing together with a plastic bag as I watched. Sian and Hiko ended up in a spat, b/c these guys usually don't wrestle with Hiko. Sian was trying and it got a little serious. Yogi was good, just watched (instead of attacking, which he has a tendency to do). Sian finally whipped Hiko's butt enough that he took it seriously and backed off. It took awhile for Sian to calm down though (snuggle time with mama, hahaha).
Last night, too, Sian and Yogi played for almost an hour straight, racing around and wrestling. Sian's proving to be a hardcore little girl. Tiny, but kicks butt. Something tells me she's maneuvering herself to take over Pixie's spot as top ferret, but at the same time, between the two of them, I'm picking up that big brother/little sister vibe they used to have as kits but lost over the years.
Other than that, Yogi's appetite has improved, just in time to enjoy the switch from raw + f/t whole prey supplements to all f/t whole prey (we've got mice, guinea pigs and quail right now, which everybody approves of. And I've got some rats and rabbits [rabbits are for Hiko, Rula and Neera] coming as well).
So, yes, we still have more ... moments where Yogi's stuck in his cycle of grief than not, but Sian's really stepping up and giving him something positive to focus on. It seems to be working.
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Post by Sherry on Apr 7, 2012 14:24:46 GMT -5
Oh I'm so glad to hear this! We noticed with Boris that he seemed to revert back to old games he used to play, once he got past the worst if his grief. Maybe trying to find something they are comfortable with?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2012 14:29:39 GMT -5
I really think that's it - they're having to come up with a new dynamic, and while they stumble a bit and bungle it sometimes, I think overall it's beginning to work *crosses fingers*
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2012 14:43:32 GMT -5
What great news. It's so good that he's finding ways to enjoy life without his mate.
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Post by Heather on Apr 7, 2012 16:29:16 GMT -5
I'm so glad that he's moving forward. Yes, there will be bad days but he's going forward, his bad days will keep getting less and the business dynamics will shift and work out the various nuances and things will eventually smooth out ciao
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