From:
"autumn_whispers2me"
Date: 2007-07-01 16:34:17 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Boo Boo's weight, health, and changing food
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Some of you may recall over the last couple of years my posting about
Boo Boo's weight and health and what appears as a possible
tooth/gum/chewing problem.
Long story short, I think it may be his teeth (gingivitis, etc.), but
his vet seems to think it may be tmj from grinding his teeth for a
couple of years. He's been successfully treated for ulcers two years
ago and while that problem is resolved, the grinding teeth issue has
continued all this time.
They won't do a teeth cleaning on him because he's FAT. He's eating
ground/softened/watery kibble because when I tried to leave him no
alternative but dry kibble...he lost weight...and kept losing. He was
getting too thin, so I stopped doing that. And when he was given the
softened/blended kibble he ate like he was starving.
He's about 4.5 lbs and it's fat for sure, and he waddles when he
walks, and he doesn't play much, sleeps a lot. He recently went back
to the vet for this, but... they didn't think it was necessary to do
bloodwork, etc, said his stool and urine was fine, and they couldn't
see any problem with his health. They gave him pain meds and have
done that before for the possible tmj... I don't see it's made any
difference. He still can't eat dry kibble, though he tries really hard.
Explanation on what happens when he tries to eat dry kibble: he tries
to chew, but it's more like biting the kibble and it rolling around in
his mouth until it falls out. Sometimes he'll break the kibble in
two, but it doesn't go much further than that. He begins to grind his
teeth after a couple of tries and stops eating completely and turns away.
Aside from needing some direction again, I'm considering putting him
on soft kibble in hopes he can lose weight enough to get a teeth
cleaning done. Right now I'm told he's too fat and that it's risky.
The brand of this kibble is Ultimate, and it's the soft-moist Advanced
Nutrition. The link is below. Can anyone tell me if this is a good
idea until we can find out why he can't chew the other kibble, and if
the protein/fat ratio, etc. are safe and good?
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Ferret-Moist-Stand-Up-Bag-24-Ounce/dp/B000FPM55I
Thank you SO much for your help.
Ella
[Moderator's Note: send posts about what to feed to Ella privately, please, INSTEAD OF POSTING unless there are things like vet journal articles on ferrets to share because we had to just limit a food discussion which was overwhelming the list once again. Posts on general caloric restriction and exercise are certainly welcome.]
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:ferrethealth-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:ferrethealth-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ferrethealth-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/