From:
"Velvet Dreams"
Date: 2009-12-05 01:59:31 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: New Member - Question
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Dear other ferret lovers,
Thank you all so very much for taking the time to write back to Matthew and=
I about our ferrets. Their health is extraordinarily important to the bot=
h of us. And while we trust our veterinarians to a great degree =96 we alw=
ays like to go out of our way to double check information. We've recently =
begun re-reading the books we own on the ferrets in order to renew our know=
ledge. I have a lot of faith in ferret owners, rescues, shelters and ferre=
t bedding manufacturers. As I believe you all have invaluable knowledge an=
d wisdom that can come in handy and is simply priceless. You've all been a=
blessing to us with your willingness to help. We didn't hear a single wor=
d of ridicule. And none of you were rude to us. Thank you so much for bei=
ng the kind, compassionate, caring and loving people that you are. I've pu=
t together a sort of checklist based on all of the different questions that=
were asked. As long as some information that came about from new ideas sh=
ared with us. Thank you again for being such generous good people. Happy =
Holidays, Matthew & Jules
CLEANING: Their cages get cleaned every day
COUGHING: One ferret had a persistent cough this past week. He was coughi=
ng every 5 minutes when he was asleep, awake and playing. We've been givin=
g him small doses of laxatone daily and now he isn't coughing anywhere near=
as much.
DIG BOXES: For some reason ours do not like the dig boxes. We've tried ric=
e, ping pong balls, plastic baby toys. And they always want to jump out of=
the box as soon as they get in it. They much prefer the plastic funnels. =
EARS: Their ears are all clean. We even use the ear cleaner on them every=
once in a while to keep them that way
EYES: None of them have eye buildup
FEAR: I had the fear of the ferrets ingesting the bedding and threading du=
e to their initial vet. We had the daylights scared out of us. We were gi=
ven a demonstration of how the fleece material can be easily threaded and i=
ngested. We had gone to her the first week we were ferret owners and were =
worried because our then baby boy had some tennis ball toys and he managed =
to chew up bits and pieces and decorate his cage with them. We had to pay =
for the exam fee, an x-ray and one other test they had done. The bill was =
over $600. Her demonstration was rather haunting. And it was never a worr=
y in our minds until this past week when the persistent cough occurred.
FIBERS & FLEECE: We were worried about these wadding up and accumulating i=
n the ferret tummies. But now that we know this is usually a kit problem a=
nd not an adult problem we are much less worried. Also, knowing that they =
doing ingest the materials to our knowledge gives us peace of mind.
HEART PROBLEMS: If our ferret continues to have a persistent cough we will=
bring him into the vet real soon. He is supposed to get a check up next w=
eek.=20
INGESTION: We've never seen any of our ferrets actually chew, eat or inges=
t any sort of bedding.
LAUNDRY: We wash their bedding twice a week and then pick off the loose ma=
terials
LAXATONE =96 FERRET PRESCRIPTION: They get this 1-2 times a week
LITTER: We use Yesterday's news
NAILS: We try to usually keep their nails trimmed. Perhaps we need to tri=
m them more often!
NOSES: None of them have a runny nose
PUMPKIN: Now that I know about this I will be sure to keep some of this on=
hand at all times.=20
STOOL: Is all normal =96 firm and full
T-SHIRTS: We are going to give them some more t-shirts to keep in with the=
ir other bedding
VOMITING: None of them vomit. Only once did one have a reaction to his di=
stemper shot and a shot of Benadryl from the vet helped him feel better rig=
ht away.
[section removed per FHL rules]
WEBSITES - OTHER (Thank you for all of your suggestions!)
http://www.ferretnews.com/issues/ferret-news-65.html
http://miamiferret.org
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