From:
Melissa
Date: 2002-12-10 22:01:08 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Chomping noises- Dr. Williams can you respond too...
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <20021210220108.19866.qmail@web14407.mail.yahoo.com>
Bandit is
> <snip> weighing 4.2
> lbs. The vet did an x-ray of his abdomen because it
> is quite large and drags
> on the floor when he walks, the vet says it's fat in
> there, and that Bandit
> needs to loose weight because the fat is pressing on
> his organs and he's
> uncomfortable and that's why he probably whimpers
> when you pick him up or
> when he moves around. Bandit has been on pred now
> for over a year (was .50
> and raised it to 1.00 1x aday) the vet says the pred
> increases the appetite
> and I should switch to the proglycem?? or see if I
> could cut back on the pred
> slightly without his sugar dropping.
I don't know what the solution is, but this seems to
be what happens when ferrets are on prednisone for a
long time. I am not sure whether it is fluid or fat,
but it is *not* due to overeating. It is just what
happens when an organism is on pred for a long time -
person or ferret. Also, I have experienced many
times the inability to distinguish fat from fluid on
an x-ray or ultrasound, and don't think it's material
in this case. Mishka was in very similar physical
condition, then dropped almost 1/2 lb in about a week
when his pred dose was reduced, while eating the same
amount of food.
If you drop the pred dose, you should try to monitor
the sugar closely. FWIW, Mishka's dose was dropped
from 0.8 ml/day to 0.4 ml/day, and that's what made
the weight loss possible. Also FWIW, he has had no
real symptoms of insulinoma since then. Of course,
that's just my experience, and your may differ.
Anyway, Bandit
> always chomp his little
> mouth when he wakes up and his breath is fowl- so
> someone suggested it might
> be ulcers and that could be contributing to the low
> blood sugar..
For what it's worth, my experience with "chomping" is
that it's a symptom of nausea. While this can be an
ulcer symptom, in my experience, if it's always in the
AM, and the ferret is only eating soup, then it's
because he's gone too long without eating.
so I started
> giving him 1.00 of carafate 3x a day 30 minutes
> before each meal. I have not
> noticed a difference in his breath or the chomping
> but his stools are more
> formed and look more normal.
On an all liquid diet, a ferret's stool *will* be very
soft - what goes in is pretty much what goes out when
the digestive tract is that fast. If the stool and
breath has a bad smell, you might try some flagyl.
Mishka's stool and breath was terrible, and after 24
hours of being on the medication, the odor was gone.
It is very hard to get in to them, but he is a changed
ferret since then - almost back to his old self.
I feed Bandit a
> combination of soup and
> babyfood 3x a day- I thought maybe his gums might be
> bad but the vet said
> there okay. I
if he's only eating soup, 3x a day is really not often
enough. An insulinomic ferret really can't go more
than 6 hours without eating. Try to get in another
feeding. I often have to go without that extra hour
of sleep to stay up and feed Mishka his last meal of
the day. I wish that there was another way, but there
just isn't, that I can see.
Also the vet said it's very important that
> Bandit drink water by itself
> to reduce the water in his food to entice him to
> drink.
Doesn't matter where he's getting his water so long as
he's getting it. But, if he doesn't want to drink
from a bottle or a bowl, try letting him lick warm
water out of a glass or coffee cup, or rinsing out the
bathtub really well after your shower and letting him
lick it off your feet and the tub. Again, so long as
he is not dehydrated, it's fine.
But he won't drink, I
> tried many suggestions, the linetone in the water, a
> water bottle instead of
> dish, nothing works, he's blind now due to the
> cataracts and I don't know but
> since then he never drinks.
Long-term maintenance of an insulinomic ferret is
enough to drive most sane people up a wall. Many of
us are in the same boat. Hang in there.
Best of luck
Melissa
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