From:
kestrelinden@yahoo.com
Date: 2004-04-13 18:06:54 UTC
Subject: Psychological or Physical?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <3917530.1081879614895.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Greetings all,
I'm a new list member here. I've started reading through messages and haven=
't found all the answers I'm seeking, although I must say thank you to all =
here for such info regarding caring for our fuzzies. I'll try to keep this =
short and to the point, but that probably won't happen. I want to include a=
s much background as possible, considering how perplexing this is.
Me and my SO both had ferrets earlier in our lives with our parents. We now=
have Paxie, a 2 yr 10 mo old female, a light silver sprite with cranberry =
eyes, and Nikko, approximately 4 yr 5 mo old male, black sable. We acquired=
Paxie when she was approximately 8-10 weeks old as a rescue, more to follo=
w on that. After working with her for half a year, we contacted our local r=
escue club and said we were interested in finding her a friend and acquired=
Nikko. Nikko is a bully, loves people, beats the *** out of our girly, so =
they play together supervised and for short periods of time. =
My worry lately is Paxie. As said above, she was a rescue at a young age. S=
he was bought with a male sibling by a fraternity brother who gave them to =
his girlfriend as a present. They decided they would keep the male but not =
the female, then known as Jackie O. My SO and I were contacted by another f=
raternity member who knew we liked ferrets and asked if we wanted her for $=
50. Money or not, we definitely wanted to help her. When we went to the fra=
t house to get her, we found her in a 2 ft x 1 ft cage with no litter box, =
an empty food bowl, and no water container. She was in a dark basement next=
to a tv and a strobe light, both of which were on, and had been there for =
approximately a week. I try not to think about what her life up to this poi=
nt was like.
We brought her home with us and tended to the water, food, and litter issue=
. For the first week, she wanted nothing to do with us. At the time, we liv=
ed in a very cramped, unferretsafe apartment, so she was confined to this c=
age until we got her a new one, about a week after we first got her. For th=
at week, pretty much all she did was bite the cage with her mouth and then =
shake and rattle the cage while biting. If we tried to handle her, all she =
wanted to do was bite us. She can see just fine. As far as being deaf, most=
of the time she responds to loud noises, but we still wonder.
With enough time and patience, Paxie has become the sweetest little girl I =
know. Our method was to let her out as much as possible and play with her, =
scruffing her and hissing if she got rough with us. Which is why I'm so con=
cerned now.
I really don't know what's wrong, so I'll just do a timeline with what we'v=
e noticed. Friday I went to the store to get their food, which was out. The=
store wasn't stocked on their regular Marshall's but had the senior diet a=
s a new option. I bought a bag to try with Nikko and figured it wouldn't hu=
rt Paxie to eat it for a day or two. It is 10% less fat and protein, from r=
eading the ingredients I wonder if they substitute this percentage with oat=
meal (soluble fiber?). Monday they got regular Marshall's in and I got some=
.=
Saturday I was cleaning their cages and room. We now live in a slightly lar=
ger rented house but it is not ferret proofable. They have their own room, =
approx. 10x6 ft with an eastern window. Inside is their cage (sectioned off=
b/c they don't get left alone together) and their toys. I'm currently unem=
ployed, so they get out and play with me in our bedroom for about 3-6 hours=
a day, otherwise, one is in a cage while the other has the room or vice ve=
rsa.
So, Saturday I cleaned their litter boxes and room. Afterwards, Paxie decid=
ed her litter was much more appropriate all over the floor. She spent hours=
and hours digging through every litter box she had access to. Saturday eve=
ning I tried to clean Paxie's ears and she just totally fought me. A lot of=
shed hair came off her, I brushed her well and sent her to bed. The ear cl=
eaning incident might possibly have triggered the next symptoms, I dont' kn=
ow. We also noticed little red spots that might have been sores or blood ar=
ound her lower lip, but no actual blood. By Sunday these were gone. She sle=
pt soundly Saturday night. Sunday we go to get everyone out and she's unres=
ponsive. Not her usual at all. She is usually wide awake when we get up in =
the morning. We get her to wake up finally and she just lays in our arms, n=
one of her usual kisses, not even for dad (she is totally a daddy's girl). =
She sleeps pretty much all day Sunday and does not play with us. Now, she i=
s an awesome and thorough sleeper, but when she is awake, she is 99% of the=
time fully on and running.
Monday arrives and I pick up her regular food. She wants nothing of it. She=
was eating the senior diet but not a lot. Now, she won't eat any of her re=
gular. We've fed her Ferretvite Monday and today (Tuesday). She also doesn'=
t seem to be drinking enough water, although she does drink some. She still=
sleeps a lot and seems to have more energy today, probably from the ferret=
vite, but not her usual fighting strength.
My concerns. She is shedding, it being spring. I brush her every day and ad=
ded laxatone to her treat regimen, about the only thing she will eat from m=
e without arguing. Nikko's been getting some as well, he doesn't argue. But=
our worry there is a partial gi blockage of some sort from all her hair. S=
he has managed about one third of her normal amount of stool, but I don't k=
now if this is because she's not been eating or if something's in the way. =
Her mouth and gums are moist, her scruff does not seem to tent stiffly, but=
I would like to see her drinking more, not to mention eating something.
A list of thoughts:
Food change (Marshalls to Marshalls senior for three days then back to Mars=
halls)
Excess shedding, possible blockage
The ear cleaning episode...up to that point she had been fine, even with th=
e Marshalls senior...afterwards is when she went ballistic on the litter bo=
xes and then the next day was when she started acting lethargic, relatively=
speaking
Today she has slept non-stop. I got her up and managed to get her to eat qu=
ite a bit of ferretvite. Her gums and mouth are moist and her scruff doesn'=
t tent, but there's no water missing from her bottle. She wants to play and=
explore and destroy stuff and has gotten totally bored with her room and t=
he bedroom. So, I put her leash on and walk around the house with her. That=
's boring too. So, she doesn't eat, doesn't drink, sleeps all day, and hate=
s her mother. I literally feel like she just flips me off. =
I plan to just let her sleep the rest of the afternoon and let us both cool=
off a little, but she has mom and dad both worried. She is not herself. I'=
m hoping this is just psychological and will fix in time. Thanks to those w=
ho managed to read all this ramble. Please ask me any questions needed for =
clarifications, I'm quite stumped, sure I missed something important. Any a=
dvide would be greatly welcomed. Nikko is really laid back. Paxie has alway=
s been high strung. She gets bored easily, wants to destroy stuff all the t=
ime. She no longer wants to play with us, just destroy stuff. I feel like I=
'm pulling my hair out myself. Even though all she does lately is sleep, I'=
ve still let her have run of the room because when she is awake, if she's i=
n the cage she gets angsty and destructo and depressed. Nikko is not happy,=
he sleeps a lot less and would like some room time again.
Thanks everyone,
Maureen
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