From:
More Ferrets?!?
Date: 2001-08-06 20:13:00 UTC
Subject: serious advice needed...2nd request & follow-up
follow up on mr. lilburn, supermodel: he's much worse. troy
lynn was kind enough to send me the guidelines she uses for
feeding critters; information assembled after consulting with
dr. williams years ago. i must admit i was astonished at the
volumes in her recommendation, but of course i immediately
tried to meet the levels! the recommendation is 90 cc's of
mushie per pound of what the ferret should weigh per day (he
should weigh 2# minimum) for feeding a ferret that isn't
eating or drinking on it's own (60 cc's per lb, per day for a
critter who is drinking on his own). also recommended is
100-200 cc's of sub q fluids per day. okie dokie...so sub q
fluids, which i was already giving, were easy increase.
lilburn has had a more difficult time with 120 cc's of mushie
per day, but we've been working on it (he does still drink
when he has energy enough to get to the water bowl).
meanwhile, he's been squeezed by my vet twice now...he's so
emaciated it's hard to believe doc wouldn't feel a tumor of
any appreciable size...today we took blood. here are the
results from the "mini" blood screen while we await the full
cbc:
bun: 43.5 (10-45)
crea: .71 (.4-.9)
alt: 155 (82-289)
alrp: 55 (9-84)
tp: 3.38 (5.2-7.3)
glu: 85.9 (94-207)
so we're trying for 100cc of mushie per day but he's having a
hard time with it...too much or too often and he vomits...so
i'd say he's getting a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 80.
until now the mix has been 50% chicken baby food, 30% totally
ferret and 20% iams kitten (plus just enough water to soften
the kibble). doc's theory today is that perhaps his protein
levels are low because of an intestinal problem that is
inhibiting proper use of protein. insert highly techincal
explanation here...what i came away with is perhaps the high
protein diet (kibble) he's taking is too taxing for an
intestinal condition and thus the food is going right through
him. going right through him it is indeed; although he tries
to get up to go potty, his poopies are so awful and half the
time so watery he just kind of leaks most of the time. he is
not lame, he just doesn't have any energy. he can and does
move all his limbs, he is just so weak most times it seems he
doesn't even wake when he has to go. his poopies are so
icky...seedy and jelly-like. so for the past week he's been
getting a minimum of 50cc of mushie and 100cc of fluids and
still is as emaciated as he can possibly be...and he's still
so dehydrated that i have to push his scruff back into place
or it would stay scrunched up all the day long. so...we
switched eukanuba low residue adult formula. doc also wants
to add a digestion enzyme supplement. so now i'm on the hunt
for powdered pancreas (yummy). any suggestions for a ferret
version, or the best human version to try? doc has giant
bottles for doggies, but thought perhaps i could find a
supplement at a health food store that we could use. doc says
he's seen doggies with these blood result numbers respond to
the addition of digestive enzymes...so i think it's a "best
guess" that it might help lilburn.
so...i hope to hear from other vets what impressions you have
about this critter's situation and perhaps what's worked for
you in the past with similiar situations. i'm sure there
could be several things going on and i wouldn't expect to
receive any diagnosis...just point us in new directions you
can think of that might help us figure out what's going on!!!
of course i'll follow up with the cbc results. thx!