From:
Ulrike
Date: 2008-01-20 14:15:51 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Almost a tragedy
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
I am glad you and your vet acted so quickly and found out what was wrong
and managed to fix it. I keep skunks as well as ferrets and one problem
the skunks often have is low calcium levels and low bone density which
results in broken bones. They also get seizures as you described. Many
people feed skunks a diet high in vegetables with a small percentage of
meat or dog food. So the diet doesn't provide skunks with adequate
amounts of calcium or vitamin D. That is why most skunk owners
supplement with a calcium/ vitamin D3 powder (Rep-Cal). It might be an
idea to give this to pregnant and lactating jills, too, maybe? Or maybe
there was enough calcium in the diet but not enough vitamin D? Or maybe
she has an illness that interferers with calcium absorption? (I think
some sort of thyroid disease can cause this.) The diet you feed her
sounds really good and well balanced so I personally wouldn't have
expected low calcium levels. Then again, big litter and I don't know
much about dietary needs of pregnant and lactating animals...
Ulrike
Danee DeVore wrote:
> When he came in, he explained that Val's calcium level was a fraction of
> what it should be. This was apparently what was causing the seizures, and
> could have killed her if I had waited even a few more hours to seek help.
> He asked me about her diet.
>
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