From:
jennjohanson@aol.com
Date: 2004-02-05 19:17:40 UTC
Subject: Feb. 5 update on JoJo
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
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 =
=
=
To: Ferret FML <ferret-list@cunyvm.cuny.edu>,
Ferret Health <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
From: Marian Wilson <mariansue32262@yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <20040205191740.53918.qmail@web60203.mail.yahoo.com>
Feb. 5 update on JoJo
I talked to JoJo's vet and we are leaning towards him getting sick from the pesticide that the exterminator uses in this house. Mom and I have discussed this and (until Spring) we won't be letting him spray in the living room (where I keep the babies). Maybe he can spray a little extra outside the house (around the living room). Not having the exterminator is not an option since mom is terrified of roaches and they are huge in New Mexico. Since mom isn't here when the exterminator comes, I may never allow him to do the living room again. I figure that if I can keep them away from the rest of the house for at least 24 hours, I'll have time to clean the floors to where they'll be safe for the kids. I did talk to the exterminator company and they said that Cynoff WP is safe for children and pets. I'm still not taking any chances.
JoJo is no longer on any medicines. He eats quite well now (yesterday I counted him up to eat 12 times). I don't have to force him anymore. His poops are back to normal. (Maybe the poops were because of the stress from being sick?) He is up and trying to play several times a day now. Today, he tried to stand on his back legs to beg for a treat. Then he got mad at a cat that was in the living room and attacked him. Needless to say both cats that were in the living room left very fast! He's back to his lovey self. He begged me to pick him up earlier and when I did, he decided it was nap time, on my lap.
I am very proud of the progress JoJo has made and am so glad I didn't listen to that first vet. There was a short time there that I thought that maybe I had made the wrong decision. I even talked to JoJo and told him about the Rainbow Bridge and told him that if he wanted to go, then I understood. He chose to stay with me.
I really doubt that JoJo will ever be "normal" again, but I am going to keep him as happy as I can, while I can.
MANY thanks to everyone that has helped and/or said prayers for JoJo. I can't do personal thank you's since I managed to lose most of the addresses. (Probably during my very worried stage.) Sorry.
Marian