Message Number: SG7801 | New FHL Archives SearchFrom: jennjohanson@aol.com
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2004 17:26:13 +0000 (GMT)
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Subject: extreme lethargy
Message-ID: <7148396.1076001973381.JavaMail.root@indium.smartgroups.com>
I am a first time ferret owner (and a new member of the list!) and have had=
my Oscar for only a few months. He is 7 mos old and originated at Marshal=
l Farms. Two weeks ago my husband and I left to go on vacation. Our ferre=
t-loving neighbors (who aren't familiar with his "typical" behavior) kept h=
im. As soon as we returned, we saw a big difference in his attitude. He i=
s acting much more tired than usual. Before, he would look for us to get u=
p in the morning, or return home from work, and be waiting to be let out an=
d played with. While he has always been mellow, he certainly played with f=
avorite toys, enjoyed burrowing, scrambled out of our arms almost immediate=
ly in order to do fun stuff. Now, we have to wake him and pull him out of =
the hammock. He ignores his favorite toys and spends most of his time out =
itching and scratching (no hair loss or scaliness, no fleas, veterinarian s=
aid it could be dry weather). After a few minutes of being up and out of h=
is cage, he finds a place to go to sleep. He now allows us to hold him for=
long periods of time. He's is very lethargic, it's like he can't keep his=
eyes open for longer than a few minutes. =
Additionally, his appetite has progressively decreased. He routinely gets=
dry food- Marshall Farms Premium diet. A few days ago, I notice no feces =
in his box after hours. I immediately started feeding him chicken baby foo=
d and gruel made from soaking his nuggets. He is very interested in eating=
this and licks willingly off of fingers although he doesn't seeking it out=
in his cage (too busy sleeping!). Now that he's back on food, he has norm=
al sized/colored feces. No noticebly improvement in his lethargy. =
He has no other symptoms. No hair loss, he has bright eyes, no coughing o=
r other apparent respiratory ailment, his belly does not seem bloated. I t=
ook him to the vet last Friday for the lethargy (and for green urine which =
was hypothesized to be too much Ferretone) and he told me that I have a per=
fectly healthy and happy ferret who is fine. I have another appointment tom=
orrow because I know Oscar doesn't feel well, although he's got a great att=
itude and is sweet and bright-eyed. I'm terribly worried and am so new to =
the ferret world. Do anyone have any suggestions? Is it possible he is go=
ing through some sort of seasonal adjustment? Could he simply have a cold?=
Is it possible he consumed something at the petsitter's house which is ca=
using him internal distress? I hate to see him going through this and it's=
been going on for between 12-20 days.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Jen =
=
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Send comments to Pam at pjdutche@email.unc.edu. Please note that this address is only useful for questions about the FHL archive. Questions about ferret health, or those intended for the FHL, should be sent to the Ferret Health List.