My strong little man....

Blazor did well in surgery--he is still a little lethargic but is eating/drinking and eliminating properly. I have him in a separate cage right now because I don't want anyone to accidentaly be too rough. I think that I will be putting him back with all of his friends this evening... (because he is sad and lonely) :-(

I also found something new out yesterday--DO NOT LET TURBO NEAR MY FACE!! I was laying on the floor, playing with some of the guys (minding my business, might I add) and Turbo wandered over, crawled over my face and latched onto my lip--I had to pry the little beast off.

So, I made the appt and he is having his teeth removed next Tuesday.

HAHAHA, just kidding. But I told him very strongly that NICE BOYS DON"T DO BITIES ON MAMA!! But he didn't seem to care--we'll have to have another conversation about it later.

Hmmmm.... something that his NEW Mama (Diane) can work on...... tee hee tee hee

Sorry it's been so long....

Yes, I know it's been a while since my last post and yes there is alot going on...

First: I had mentioned before that Blazor seemed to be a bit "off", so we took him to our regular vet--she did some bloodwork and we found out that he has insulinoma (his blood sugar was REALLY low--I'm surprised he wasn't having more severe symptoms than general lethargy) and when she looked at his teeth--she saw that both his top canines were cracked pretty much in half--you could see the pulp. :-( So, he was started on Prednisone and scheduled for the tooth extraction tomorrow--but I've already noticed a major difference in his energy level so the pred is already working. I asked the vet if she had any idea how old he is (you can usually tell by looking at their teeth) but, due to bad nutrition and poor treatment, all of these guys have crazy bad teeth--she compared it to a big old outdoor tomcat-due to bodily hardship, he could be two--but look ten...

So, keep us in mind tomorrow.

The good news is that EVERYONE is together except Dudelee. Even Pippy is in the playpen snuggling with all of the big boys--and you should see how happy she looks--and now Turbo is in there also. They all interact with one another so wonderfully! I think that is one of the most amazing things I've noticed about them in their time with me. When they first came, they had no clue how to interact with one another--and now you can see them do their little strategies if someone is being too rough, or a little cranky. They didn't have those skills before--that's developed while they have been here--and it makes me so proud of them.

Meelo and Goliath are staying with me--Twitch and Uno have been adopted (but they are still here because quarentine hasn't ended yet) Turbo is staying with Diane--and Blazor is prob going to stay at the shelter also (unless we can find someone really special for him)

Levi has gotten SOO much better--don't get me wrong, he still nails me every so often--but I have seen such improvement. It's mostly when he gets wound up--and then no toe or finger is safe...LOL

Dudelee--well, he is slow going--I've been hand feeding him his evening soup, hoping that it will help him feel safe so he can chill out a little bit--He may end up needing to be an only ferret. Only time will tell.

I'm so proud of my babies!!

We've had a breakthrough!!!

I can't believe it!! Turbo has finally figured out that boys who aren't nice--don't get to come out and romp with the other weasles. OMG. Right now, I have everyone out in the room together (mostly-I'll explain shortly) and there have only been a few altercations--and those have all been by Dudelee (who is mostly OK, as long as everyone leaves him alone)

The only one "not out in the room" is Pippy and that is her choice. The boys are so rambunctious, I think they are a bit overwhelming for her--So, when the boys are free, I put her in the play pen with the top open--she usually hangs in there until the boys relax a little bit, and then she will climb out and hang with Momma. (she can get in and out by herself when the top is open) So, it's her choice where she wants to be.

She is so funny--I couldn't figure out why I was the only one that she gnaws on... well, I finally figured it out. She is not gnawing on me, so much as getting a good grip to bring me with her. If I give her my finger, she will grab it and lead me (I've actually let her lead me places to see what she is trying to with me) to where she wants me--usually under the bed, under the bureau, into her cage... She's like "come on mama, lets go play" it's so cute--although she is very persistant--I've had her grab my toe and try to carry me off also... LOL

I'm concerned about Blazor--he still has that weird cough thing going on and he poops out WAY before the other weasels... They are going into the vets for the remainder of their shots on Wed and Thurs so I will have her take a look at him then.

There by the Grace of God, Go I....

So... the ADV tests for Loki, Coyle and Dusty came back--All negative (THANK GOD) I've been having anxiety attacks for the past week.

Loki didn't have a good weekend and when I spoke to the vet this morning, we spoke about some of the options. We've done pretty much everything diagnostically that we can think of (other than exploratory surgery and that's NOT GONNA HAPPEN) We do know (from her bloodwork) that there is something inflammatory going on--and as a rule, Ferrets respond very well to Prednisone (they don't experience some of the nasty side effects that dogs, cats and people do) so, we are going to start dosing her with Pred --with a follow up in a week to check her status. One thing the Dr did mention was that if we were to determine that she has cancer, the pred would negatively effect chemotherapy. Since I've already determined that I am not willing to subject her to that road, it's a non-issue and we decided to start the pred.

On a more postive note--the OH guys are doing fantastic. I now have Meelo, Blazor, Goliath, Uno and Twitch together in one cage (well, actually a playpen) and (if you can believe it) Turbo and Levi in the other. Pippy and Dudelee are really coming out of their shells--however, whenever I put Pippy with someone, they try to eat her and whenever I put Dudelee with someone--he tries to eat them. I tried to put them together and he tried to eat her (and she's just too cute to be eaten) She tried to carry me under the bed today (I'm so flattered--Mama is her favorite toy!!) I can't believe how well everyone is doing and it makes me so happy that we got the 9 (instead of the 4 or 6 we were originally planning on)

Well, I just wanted to touch base. Be well.

Back to the rescue kids....

So, the OH kids are doing well... Everyone seems to be settling in and getting more comfortable. They are still very people oriented--I refer to them as little spazzy dogs. They make me laugh every day.

I've been able to socialize some of them with each other--and they are now caged together (which is major) That was kind of a stressday day--I picked and chose who I thought would go best together--and then when they was a problem, took the problem out of the equation and tried someone else. Then, I ended up sleeping upstairs with them, because I was afraid that there would be a problem in the night--and I didn't really want to wake up in the AM and walk into a room full of "weasies pieces" haha, get it????--I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.

So, at this point--Goliath, Twitch and Uno are together--the three of them are very playful, amusing but don't need to be "the head weasle in charge" Watching them run around together is actually hilarious.

Meelo and Blazor are together--initially, they both seemed to be more mellow--but they are coming out of their shells. Blazor is just a sweet boy, and I think he would prob get along with anyone who didn't try to beat him up. Meelo is turning into quite the litle Napolean--he is perfect with Blazor, but I haven't been able to get anyone more timid in the group, because he beats on them--and anyone more aggressive will beat on him....he's also pretty funny as he holds grudges--if he's mad at me for some reason--he turns his head away from me and will withhold kisses--if he's really mad, he will gently bite me--as if to say "mama, I am not pleased with you"

Dudelee is my little timid man--I would love to get him with someone else, but when I tried to get him with Meelo and Blazor (who I thought would be the perfect group for him) Meelo tried to beat the crap out of him--and when I put him with Goliath, Twitch and Uno--he tried to beat the crap out of Uno. I will try that one again--he might have just gotten aggressive because he was nervous--so, I'll give it more time and see what happens next time.

I think that Pippy would prob get along with anyone, however, she is so little--I am not going to put her with any of the boys until the testosterone is COMPLETELY out of their systems--which I'm told is about 4 weeks. Once that is done, I think she might be a good fit for Dudelee--She is so fiesty though, she follows me around the room, gnawing the crap out of me (she only has a couple teeth, because continuous breeding sucked the nutrients right out of her body) so, every so often, I say "ow" and act like she hurt me, to make her feel productive. :-) It makes her happy, and making her happy makes me happy.

Turbo--not really sure that I'm going to find someone who is a good fit for him--he is such a nice boy, he's funny, sweet and amusing--with people. With other ferrets, he is HEAD ALPHA WEASEL IN CHARGE--and he's not had the experience with other ferrets to be a benevolent Alpha. It's something that I will just continue to work with--he would prob be a better fit for a ferret who is comfortable dealing with other ferrets--and who knows how to respond appropriately. Only time will tell.

Levi is coming along--he still nails me every so often, but he is getting better. I just can't figure out why he's biting--so it's hard for me to deal with it pro-actively (which is usually how I work with biters) So, my strategy with him thus far, is not give him any fingers or toes--if I present bare skin to him (without ferretone) it is the back of my hand. Fortunately, he is a Ferretone "whore" and I am able to mostly handle him with the aid of "tone"--but yet, he will kiss my face....

Loki Update

Soo... they did get the urine yesterday and there was no extra protein in it--which means that it's not liver/kidney failure. So, now just to rule some things out, we are going to do an ADV test (I will put ADV information on my side bar in case anyone is interested, I'm not going to bore everyone with it here) and we are going to do another CBC to see if any of her other values have changed (for ex: platelet count, etc-which could mean luekemia) As another aside--Dr. H told me that she was reviewing the the report from the old Ultrasound and noticed that it mentioned "slightly enlarged abdominal lymph nodes"--which again, could have been nothing--but considering the context of her history (and mine) SHOULD HAVE at least been mentioned to me.



She mentioned a possibility of doing Exploratory surgury--but to be totally honest, I am not comfortable with that. If they were going in for something specific, that would be one thing--but for some biopsies and a "looksie"? She's only 1 lb 4 oz--if it came to that, I'd rather just make her as comfortable as possible for as long as I can.



My heart is just hurting: out of my original 3 ferrets (not including Cali who I got about 5 months ago)



Dusty is insulinomic and on Prednisone

Coyle is going to the vet tomorrow and most likely adrenal (so we will discuss either surgury or meletonin implants)

Loki is ill with something as yet undetermined.



All of them are under four years old--Loki is 3 1/2, Dusty is 3 and Coyle is 2 1/2--Not typical even for ferrets. :-(



So, are next steps for Loki are:

Blood draw for ADV test and CBC-that will happen today at some point

Depending on what the blood shows, another abdominal ultrasound



Exploratory surgery: as for right now, a BIG N O!!

VENT about Non shelter ferret

Ok, I just need to vent about this because I'm very frustrated. My personal Ferret Loki (my first ferret) has not been right for about 7 months. It's nothing I've been able to put my finger on, I just have seen little things here and there that add up--and I've just had a gut feeling about it.

I've brought her to the vet about 3 times--giving him all the symptoms, explaining that "she's just not right" We've had ultra-sounds, blood tests, etc. The last time I saw him, I told him that I don't know, and I know he's been doing tests--but I KNOW THAT THERE IS SOMETHING NOT RIGHT WITH HER. So, he told me that I could always get a second opinion (not in a nasty way, but in a truly trying to be helpful way) Meanwhile, I had asked him to send me the results of her bloodwork about 3 times and I never recieved it, so I just let it go.

Just as a back story--there is another vet that we work with alot through the shelter and I also highly respect her...so, some time goes on and I think "you know what, I am going to take her to this other Dr" Mind you--this Dr has had extensive experience with my "gut" regarding ferrets who "are just not right--and respects that.

So, her appt was yesterday--I had her records faxed from her normal vet. When the second opinion dr (I will refer to her as Dr. H) looks her --she notices that she doesn't "look right" (she looks like a little old ferret and she is only 3 1/2) when she looks at her blood work, she also notices that her Albumin level is low and her globulin level is high. So, she tests her blood again and now, her Albumin level is even lower.

The awesome thing about Dr. H is that she admits she doesn't know everything--but will tell you what is happening and then say "but I need to research that more to get more information" which I have SOO much respect for. I don't trust any human being who acts like they know everything.

So, now she is leaning towards something going on with her liver/kidneys. They were unable to get urine yesterday, but I brought her (loki) back in this morning and they got a urine sample on which they will do the appropriate tests. I will hear back at some point today.

Now--my frustration is: the original blood tests were done 7 months ago. If you have a client, who has EXTENSIVE experience dealing with sick ferrets (as all of the fosters I take in to my home are old/ill/hospice or behaviourally challenged) Whose gut feelings, thus far, has been pretty much dead on--who is INSISTENTLY telling you on numerous occasions that "I can't put my finger on it, but I know something is not right with this ferret" Don't you think that ANY oddity on the blood tests would be addressed--or even mentioned???? That was the FIRST thing that Dr. H noticed--and she even said "i'm not sure what it means, but I find it very interesting" and then went from there.

I think if something had just been missed, I would be less annoyed (since her symptoms have been pretty obscure) --but the fact that the oddity showed up in black and white (and mind you--when the values are above or below normal range they print out in RED-so it's hard to miss) and it wasn't addressed, infuriates me.

Oh well, I just had to get it off my chest. It will be addressed with him, I just want to get all my ducks in a row prior to talking to him about it.

Now that I've had a little time to regroup

Well, now that I've had some time to regroup--let me give you more details on my new kids.

Their names are Pippy (the only girl-and she's a pipsqueak), Turbo(because he's a maniac), Goliath (because he's a huge snugly mama's boy), Twitch (because he twitches when he dances), Meelo(because he's a mellow little dude), Uno (because he only had one ball--and then there were none....) Dudelee (Diane called him that because apparently I call everyone Dudelee and she thought it was appropriate), Blazor (who is a deafie with a white lightening bolt on his head) and Levi (who reached out of his cage with his big monkey paw to grab your pants or "levi's")

Pippy, Goliath, Levi, Meelo & Blazor were altered, (Pippy was spayed and everyone else was neutered.) Rabies vaccinated and ADV tested the day before yesterday. It was important to get Pippy spayed ASAP as a female ferret is in Estrus until she breeds--which can cause life threatening anemia/death. Getting ferrets spayed/neutered is something new for us--as MA state law dictates that any ferrets sold in MA are altered (and all the big farm kits--the ones sold in the majority of pet stores, are altered and descent ed prior to being shipped out)

Turbo, Twitch, Uno and Dudelee were neutered, rabies vaccinated and ADV tested yesterday.

Personalities: These assessments will prob change as they get more comfortable and I get to know them better--so, these personality observances are Certainly subject (and most likely will) to change. These guys are so excited to just be out of the cage--they've been jumping and dooking--and I've even gotten bunches of kisses. You talk to them and they just stare at you in wonder that you are giving them attention. At this point, none of them can be scruffed--they go INSANE (because that was prob the only way they had previously been handled-with a rough scruff) We are most likely going to have to work on that as eventually all ferrets need to be scruffed (if only for medical assessments or ear cleaning)

Pippy: I don't think that we've had the opportunity to see pippy's personality as she was in heat and not feeling well and is now recovering from her spay--however, she seems to be very sweet--albeit a little feisty.

Turbo: is a maniac--he is one of the funniest and most talkative weasels that I've ever met. I can't even describe the way he sounds, you have to hear it--it's like a combination between a chirp and a cluck. He is (and has been from the beginning) the most adjusted out of the group. However, when he gets really excited, he does tend to get a little nibbley--but that is to be expected--once he begins to recognize the boundaries of what's ok and what's not, he will be fine.

Goliath: is a big snuggle boy--he bonded to me instantly--he is also pretty well adjusted and is a bit of a goof.

Levi: is a biter, but with careful handling is OK-- but he wants to be a good boy, you can tell by the way he stares up at you--and he does give kisses--you just can't reach into his cage, move too quickly or let him get too excited/overstimulated.

Uno: is another goof ball, he is a good boy but another one who tends to bite when he gets over excited/over stimulated.

Meelo: seems to be the most timid of the group, but he is a total sweetheart and gives lots of kisses. I'm still trying to figure out if he's deaf--he's a sable, so it's not typical--but who knows what kind of issues/injuries he might have sustained while at the farm.

Dudelee: should be called poing because, I swear he's got springs attached to the bottom of his feetie paws. Kaboing Kaboing Kaboing

Twitch: is another goof ball--and does this little weird twitchy thing when he war dances

Blazor: is a sweetheart and after he is out of his cage for a couple minutes, then starts to dance. he is deaf, but I haven't started working on any signs with him at I want to wait until he has settled in a little bit more and can focus.

As of now, I can reach into any of the cages and take them out with no problem (with the exception of Levi-who I have to initially bribe with ferretone, but once my hands are on him, he's fine) Because they all need to be taken out of their cages separately, I haven't been able to give them near as much out of cage time as I'd like (in an ideal world, they would be out no less than four hours a day) --as they need to be constantly monitored, so even letting them out for 1/2 hour each--adds up to about 5 hours a day. However, by the same token--it's still more than what they were accustomed to-and it's prob a good idea to gradually increase out of cage time as they tend to get overstimulated when out for a while anyway...

I don't want them to equate hands to bad things, so when they are out of the cage--I pick them up every 5 minutes or so, give them ferretone and kisses--that way, they don't assume that being picked up means it's time to go back in the cage (which makes it VERY hard to catch them--LOL)

I haven't even really addressed litter box training yet--I am just putting boxes where they go to the bathroom--a higher priority is helping them to feel safe and comfortable with people. To be totally honest anyway--you can't really litter train ferrets anyway--the best way of litter training, is figure out where they like to go and put boxes there.

I will continue to keep you all posted, thanx for reading!!