From:
MystikCelt@hotmail.com
Date: 2003-03-16 17:32:42 UTC
Subject: Question on sudden energy in 6yr old
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <11792847.1047835962171.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Hi there... I'm new to the group here, came looking for a place to get answ=
ers when I got worried about my rugrunts last week. I've read a few ferret =
mags and having had ferrets for almost 10 years now, I know a good deal abo=
ut them. I found this place and saw Dr. Williams name attatched to it so I =
knew this would be the best place for answers.
Anyway, on to the problem.
Puck and Hermes are 6 year old ferrets I picked up from a local shelter whe=
n they were a little over a year old. They've been healthy, and as far as I=
can tell, normal. My first ferret, Subotai, was an "only child" so I've ne=
ver really had the oppurtunity to compare behavior now that I have two kids=
. In the past, they've done the usual ear biting, wrestling thing with each=
other, occasionally at 3 in the morning, but never really anything out of =
hand. =
About a year ago, however, Puck experienced a burst of energy for maybe a w=
eek or so, where he'd grab the cage bars in his teeth and tug with all his =
might, rattling the cage. He wasn't "aggressive" towards Hermes, any more t=
han their usual playfighting, but he was a complete spaz as far as energy l=
evels for that week. This was just after I moved into a new room though, so=
I chalked it up as just the new environment and maybe some stress from the=
move. I monitored his feces and eating, and he seemed fine otherwise. All =
in all lasted about a week.
However, he has now all of the sudden gone "spaz" again, to the point where=
he's keeping us up all night, it seems like he hardly sleeps and all he wa=
nts to do is dig at his bedding and bite the bars of the cage and rattle it=
. Again, he's not being "aggressive" towards Hermes, per se, but it's start=
ing to bother me. I've split them up, Hermes in the cage, and Puck in the p=
laypen, so I could monitor their eating and feces. Puck seems to be eating =
and drinking normally, although he ignored the litterbox for the first few =
"poops" after I changed the litter. They've never been saints when it comes=
to that though, so I don't think it's an issue. His only sign of a problem=
is just being completely batty spazzing out. Stand up, lay down, stand up,=
move one foot, lay down. Repeat over and over. Climb up everything, and ju=
mp down, etc. Even when "resting" he looks hyper, as if he's just waiting f=
or something interesting to happen. There is no lethargy, no "aggressivenes=
s" towards others, no hair loss, no loss of appetite... only spazzing out w=
ith energy.
At first I was worried about him, because of the change in behavior. Now ho=
wever I'm wondering if he's acting odd because he senses something in Herme=
s. Heremes has pretty much been his normal self, although he's had less ene=
rgy than in the past. No drastic change though, just what I would assume as=
a normal decrease in energy due to being 6 years old. Heremes feces appear=
to be fine, if slightly on the loose side, but nothing I havent seen befor=
e. However, we were up almost all night last night because of Puck, and not=
once did I see Hermes awake. If he did wake at all last night, we missed i=
t, and it doesn't look lke he ate anything overnight; if he did, it was ver=
y little. =
I'll monitor them both some more today, and I'm planning on taking them to =
the vet for a check up on monday or tuesday, if Puck keeps it up. However, =
I wanted to post here in the meantime to see if anyone has any insight on w=
hat might be going on. I would be forever grateful if anyone has any ideas.=
I just want my babies to be ok.
If you could, please forward any replies to my email at MystikCelt@aol.com=
, thanks.
P.S. There is only one external factor I can link to about the same time as=
Puck's behavior change... the room we've moved into has a sunroof in the c=
eiling, which for about the past two weeks has been lighting the room prett=
y brightly early in the morning, sometimes making me think I overslept due =
to the brightness. Puck's odd behavior started slightly afterwards, I'm not=
sure if they are linked. In my old room, there was no sun roof, and the li=
ghting was not as drastic through the windows.
=