To the vet tech

[Guest guest]

Hi and THANK U for writing me. I almost felt silly about

writing about my ferret but everyone here knows my love for animals .

I also have 3 dogs that are full grown ( a beautiful husky, a begian

malinois/chow mix, a chow that we believe has something else in her

but mainly chow) and a new puppy dennis got me when he came back from

CT (we were seperated for about 3 months) we were told she was half

husky half golden lab and we saw the mom...but she is all black wit

some white on feet and a vet told my mom (she got her brother) that

sometimes a dog in heat could have a litter with 2 dads. the other 2

taken pups looked like husky but this pup shows a bit of pitt in her.

But we love our 'babies' to pieces and when they are sick i try to

save them and make them feel better.

ive always loved ferrets and hate when ppl tell me they hate em cause

they stink or whatever but they are so funny and have crazy

personalities:) Last week 'smokey' was really lethargic and would

hardly move. I took him out of the cage where he is with bandit. His

lil buddy. i got them both from a woman who really didnt take care

of them, i used to have a ferret yrs ago and fell in love with them.

I put him in a large cat crate and have been keeping him near me, make

sure hes warm and i read online about how to force feed him. I have

been giving him gerber baby food thru a syringe with water. At first

he wasnt eating at all but i kinda made him without hurting him or

letting him inhale it. Now he gets excited when i go to feed him and

give him water and im wondering if he got hurt and thats why he wasnt

eating.

we have a large 3 layer cage and he wasnt going up to eat or drink.

When i check on him he goes to bathroom on himself and seems like hes

dragginghis back end- this worries me as i wonder if he is suffering.

when my hubby closed the door and wanted him to come out and walk

around it seemed like he was lmost drunk and staggering,

do you have any ideas? im thinking i shoudl take him to vet on monday.

i moved to a diff area so i dont know f a vet yt but will try to find

one who knows about ferrets....the last thing i want is for him to

suffer.

im wondering if maybe him and bandit got into it one day and he got

hurt in cage.

sorry for the book here but i really appreciate your help and your

email....i wish i coud be a vet and if there is ever a cure for rsd id

love to go back to school so i can help animals...only thing that held

me back when i was younger was the thought of someone coming in with a

dog hit by car or i couldnt save someones ' baby' an have to put to

sleep.

Thanks so much again and i hope this finds you doing ok..i havent been

on in a few days and losing some sleep lol.

Oh and his coat seems normal to me but in his hammock he was laying in

i saw ' hairballs'

in va

(ps- i havent heard a word from my state rep as of yet but i really do

hoe they will contact me and help me find out why it has taken me

going on 5 mos to get my back pay while my lawyer has gotten his money

3 months ago- makes me so mad and my lawyer could care less cause he

was paid....makes me SICK!!!! grrr) >

>

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> Messages in this topic (3) 3a.

> Re: I wrote to my state rep about ssd case

> Posted by: " " hscvt@... qtangel95

> Thu Dec 13, 2007 5:53 am (PST)

> Hi

>

> I saw your post and had to reply. First of all, good for you for

> writing you state rep. It's a shame that people with these invisible

> diseases, have to suffer because we don't get the care and treatment we

> need and deserve. I hope that you get a reply and this rep makes

> something happen for you.

>

> I also wanted to comment on your ferret. I know what it's like to truly

> love and care for your animals. I made a career out of it as I am a

> certified vet tech. I haven't been able to go back to my regular job of

> active teching due to being bit by a cat which caused great amount of

> infection and ended up with RSD because of it. Anyhow, I do teach at

> the local college in the vet tech program. Force feeding is a good

> thing to do if your ferret seemed lethargic. You can check hydration

> status by lifting up the skin by his neck (scruff area) and seeing if it

> " snaps " back into place. If it takes a while to go back to normal, then

> he is dehydrated. Sounds like with the force feeding though you are

> adding water to it which will help, especially if he is not actively

> drinking on his own. How is his haircoat? Does it seem dry and dull?

> He is losing any hair anywhere? Ferrets get adrenal disease commonly,

> which would cause hair loss, dry dull haircoat, etc. Another thing they

> get are insulinomas. Which are tumors on the pancreas. The pancreas is

> what is responsible for producing insulin to regulate blood sugar. Just

> a thought. Hopefully it's just a bug and nothing more serious. But it

> sounds like the force feedings are helping which is a great thing! Keep

> up the great job.

>

> Hang in there. It's hard when there is so much going on but sounds like

> the ferret in on the mend and hopefully you'll get a great response from

> your state rep :-)

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi

Thanks for the email and you are welcome :-) Sounds like you are doing

everything right. As for your ferret having trouble with his backend,

well it sparks me thinking about some sort of possible back injury . I

certainly would take him to a vet on Monday. He could have an

insulinoma though (ferrets can commonly get them which would affect

blood sugar which in turn could make him wobbly) Just call and ask if

they deal with ferrets as you are right, you don't want to go to a vet

that doesn't know anything about ferrets. Sounds like he could use a

workup though. I don't know if you posted this already but how old is

he? Baby food with water is PERFECT for force feeding! Sounds like he

is getting some strength back by you doing that. You really have done a

great job and I want to make sure you realize that :-)

I hope that you hear from your state rep soon! And I hope that you are

feeling better. The cold weather is not helping me out at all. Right

now I can hardly walk. Have to get the cane out again.

Feel free to email me privately if you wish to discuss your ferret any

further. I would really like to keep track of how he's doing and what

happens.

To the vet tech

Hi and THANK U for writing me. I almost felt silly about

writing about my ferret but everyone here knows my love for animals .