From:
erynn@32k.com
Date: 2003-11-19 19:47:47 UTC
Subject: Odd behavior- any advice is much-appreciated!
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <7758390.1069271267235.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Hi all,
I'm new to the group and have a pretty bizarre behavior problem occurring with one of my 8 year old girls (I have two). Please forgive the long-winded post, but I think some background will help...
My 2 girls run free throughout the house during the day, then go into their cage while I sleep at night- they have been on this routine (and in this cage) since they were babies. Recently, one of them has been having a tough time eating her hard food, so I started giving her a mix of A/D and Gerber Turkey Rice to supplement the kibble (which she was still eating). She has since refused to eat the kibble at all and will only eat the A/D mix (I think she either has problems with her teeth or throat, since before her new diet she would almost immediately regurgitate the hard food after swallowing, which prompted me to switch her to the A/D mix) but my vet has not been able to diagnose the problem- we even checked for megaesophagus, but the vet didn't think that was the issue either.
Since she's been on the new diet, she refuses to sleep a full night in her cage. She goes wild- chewing the bars, throwing the litter pan around and dumping the hard food dish- until I finally let her out. She then will walk immediately to one of her floor papers and urinate/defecate. If I do not wake up to let her out, she refuses to use the litter pan and defecates all over the cage. Since the cage has been her nightly home for 8 years, I am puzzled at this new behavior. She doesn't have hind leg weakness, so stepping in the litter pan should not be difficult for her, but she seems to not want to poop in the cage anymore. Could the new diet be causing it? I usually feed her the mixture morning, afternoon and evening before going to bed- could she still be hungry?
Please let me know if you have any suggestions or recommendations. Thank you!
Erynn