From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-01-29 19:08:04 UTC
Subject: Re: hindend weakness
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <6119801.1107025684530.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Author wrote:
> If the little one had been caged for a prolonged time that could result
> in muscles becoming weakened (atrophy). He would have been caged at
Troy Lynn is so very right. We've run into one with lack of muscle from prolonged caging in a small cage, and I have seen that in other species. If you can get the muscle mass up high enough (Do the things TLE mentioned and also show the ferret how to lean on a wall to assist walking.) then use your own body as a way to encourage the ferret to walk away from supports by lying on the floor and extending your hands and feet to encourage the ferret to try walking across a short space without supports.
After you ask, *if* the vet says at some point that it is safe to try during the rehab use a pantyhose sling. This is a thing which was first thought up by the people who make Doggone (sp?) mobility carts. You select a size of p[antyhose for your own height (and if there are people of assorted heights in your family just pick different colors for different sized panyhose and their people. Overlap the feet of the pantyhose and sew them together to make a hammock for the ferret's belly. Roll the top and sew that together and it makes a handle. Settle the ferret into the hammock part, provide lift and then let the ferret walk.
Like Troy Lynn said, there also could be fracture which just is hard to see.
BTW, if the ferret was very confined the bones as well as the muscle mass will not be strong so when the vet says that you do rehab be extra careful to avoid dangerous motions like jumps or stair climbing. Bone mass is built up in response to feedback from weight bearing exercise just like sarcopenia (poor muscle amount and tone) is treated that way, but the build-up is gradual.
If the ferret has an adrenal growth there have been reports (from Bob Church) of seeing poor bone density in such individuals and that also could add to injury risk. The exact mechanism is not known but there is some preliminary work which indicates that high FSH output (which also appears to be the trigger for adrenal growths in ferrets) can itself lead to osteoporosis.