From:
"joclynatuo"
Date: 2008-01-12 21:55:45 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Tongue flicking in older ferret
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
this posting has been very helpful as i'm dealing with the same
situation!
lil bear is turning 7 in a week and has had insulinoma for just over
2 years now. i noticed something and didn't really take note as it
was usually after eating (kibble as well as the gravy) and it just
looked like the usual licking-the-chops thing.
she lost her cagemate of 6 years just before christmas and since
then, there's been obvious depression; some weightloss (she
generally puts the winter weight on in aug/sept and starts to lose
it in january, so initially, i wasn't concerned) and this licking
the chops has been happening more often, although still
sporadically.
the fact that it was happening at times other than just after eating
tipped me off that something was up. wasn't sure what. i did
suspect ulcers (under the circumstances with the loss, that just
made sense) and didn't completely discount it even though there has
been no grinding or pawing and no tarry poo.
well, she had some tarry poo last night and the licking was much
more pronounced - and she was doing it right after she woke up. AND
she was doing a bit of pawing at the mouth. i fed her some gravy
mixed with a little of the canned evo 95% meat with her pred dose
mixed in and that went in well and she didn't do too much of the
licking/flicking afterwards and no pawing either.
i feed evo feline kibble with a bit of the evo canine red meat mixed
in...just made up a new mix at the beginning of the week. i'm
wondering if that has something to do with the more prevalent
symptoms? i'm going to try giving her smaller servings of the gravy
more frequently and see if that helps ease her tummy a bit.
she's already been on the amoxi (have been treatin all of them with
that) and just got done with the course earlier in the week.
another reason for the onset of the tarry stool? as in, it would
have occurred sooner if she hadn't been on the meds?
i have the carafate and am starting her on that today. was more
concerned with getting the pred into her last night as she's seemed
more lethargic than normal the past few days. she's been off the
pred completely for more than a year with no return of the insu
symptoms - had done extremely well with the grain-free diet. in
fact, she regained more of the lost weight once i had her off the
pred than she'd done while on it. the doc approved the cutting back
on the meds - with the caveat of keeping a strict eye on her and
starting it up again if symptoms returned. so i got that into her
first and did the carafate this morning.
she's going for a check-up this week - it's clear that she's got
ulcers and she's also probably adrenal - the recent lethargy and
weightloss as well as her vulva is enlarged and nasty red. that was
something new that i noticed last night. at least she's a candidate
for surgery at this point (was completely too thin two years ago
when she was diagnosed with the insu). gotta be thankful for small
favors!
jeff, please send me the info you have! i'm sure that it'll be
helpful with dealing with what's going on here. and, it'll be good
to have read up on it before i go in and speak with the doc. any
other input/suggestions will be appreciated as well!
renee, i hope jersey is okay!! which tf food are you feeding?
they've recently discontinued one of the turkey/lamb kibbles (not
quite sure of which one though). i hope it's not the one you've
been feeding them!
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/