Mini Sew Days

Adrian and I have had our own mini sew days this year. We have been unable to attend the CW sew days and have personally sent bedding to shelters. We sent to Asti's Ferret Haven in January and Ferret City Shelter and Rescue in February. We have also used Crafty Weasels fabric to send bedding (from the CW's) to Asti's Ferret Haven again as they had to discard some of theirs and needed replacements ASAP.

We sent Asti's Ferret Haven about 9 pieces in January, and total from the CW in February was 20 pieces (Adrian and I did 8 of those this weekend). We also sent them 6 crochet fish eggs. Ferret City Shelter received 23 pieces of bedding from Adrian and myself along with 12 crochet eggs. Ferret City Shelter is the same one that flooded at the beginning of January. They had to rebuild the shelter and needed all the help they could get.

Adrian and I work well together making ferret bedding, I really enjoy spending time with him like this. Below is a picture of the stack we sent to Ferret City Shelter and a link to other pictures of the bedding we made so far this year.


To view more pictures, go to Bedding

I look forward to continuing this effort of helping shelters. If you would like to help but are not sure how, please feel free to email me at ann@haager.net Shelters continue to provide homes for ferrets only by the love and generosity of volunteers...every little bit helps!

Dooks & Dances

Lupi Update - Questions Answered

I know this is kind of late, but at least it's finally here. We are still working on solutions for Lupi, but at least now we know a little more and are getting somewhere. Since I did receive so many responses to my questions, I'm just going to give the synopsis.

First of all, I'd like to say that insulin levels do not determine whether a ferret has insulinoma or not. Out of hundreds of people, only one that I know of thinks it does, and that would be our local vet. Sadly, I'm very upset with them and have seriously been thinking of moving back to Atlanta...or better yet, Texas where Dr. Jerry Murray lives.

Dr Jerry Murray, DVM practices at the Animal Clinic of Farmers Branch in Dallas, Texas, USA. He is a frequent contributer to Ferrets magazine, Ferrets USA magazine, and the online Ferret Health List. He has also written ferret related articles for several veterinary magazines. As a pioneer in the treatment of endocrine issues in ferrets, he has lots of experience dealing with adrenal gland disease and insulinomas.

In 2005, Dr Murray was presented with a Special Achievements Award for his outstanding contribution to the ferret community. He is a former ferret breeder and has been working with pet ferrets for the past 17 years. He currently has 3 pet ferrets. His hobbies include traveling, wildlife photography, and working with the endangered black-footed ferrets.

In other words, he's trustworthy.

I emailed him with our concerns, even sent him a copy of Lupi's test results, and this was his response:

Hi Ann
Yes, a glucose of 44 with clinical signs sure sounds like
a case of insulinoma. Disregard the insulin level as it is
not an accurate test to determine insulinoma in ferrets.
Yes, Lupi has mild anemia which could be from the adrenal
gland disease or from just having a chronic disease.
His "prostate infection" needs to be treated aggressively
with Lupron monthly, Propecia 1mg once a day for 1 to 2
months then you can reduce to just 0.1mg for the rest of his life,
and Baytril (or Zeniquin) for 6+ weeks. Plus continue
with the melatonin implants every 3 to 4 months.
His alk phos (a liver enzyme) is elevated but maybe elevated
if he is not eating well.
1) I would still go with a high protein food (ie Natural Gold, Totally Ferret
Baby version) because his kidney values (BUN) are still normal.
2)Yes Alph Trak is very accurate for ferrets when using the dog code.
3) I would suggest using 0.15 ml of pred if it is 3mg/ml.
Hope that helps,
Jerry

So, I have ordered a glucose test meter. I was originally going to order a human version, the FreeStyle Lite, then I heard that they make one for dogs and cats that can be used for ferrets. So I ordered it through our local vet. Well, turns out they don't know how to order anything either as they got the wrong thing and tried to get me to buy it anyway. I told them to send it back, I would get one from somewhere else. So I'm back to the human version and it has been ordered and I will hopefully get it this week.

Once we get our meter, I am making an appointment with a vet in Atlanta to have them give Lupi a lupron injection as well as supervise me on my first glucose test of him. I will have tested myself first too just to say that I've been there ^.^ I also plan to stop by the ferret shelter or the hospice care to have them put in a melatonin implant.

And as a side note, we plan to make a day of it by also stopping at OCHO's for some fabric sales!

I have also asked for information recently on electrolyte replacers, vitamins and foods. I still haven't been able to find a good electrolyte replacer that does not contain some form of sugar, so if it comes down to him needing fluids, he will get the sub-q. So far, we haven't needed it, even though we thought we did one night. As far as the vitamins go, we're looking into Totally Ferret Vivify for oils as we already give Nupro which has other vitamins and minerals. So we're covered there too. And we'll be switching to feeding Lupi only Innova EVO and Totally Ferret for a while as well as the occasional 8n1 Moist as a treat.

Oh yeah, and we're still treating for ear mites, so I don't have any more news about that. I will, however, get Lupi and possibly one other ferret tested again to be sure they are actually gone. They do seem to be scratching their ears less...but I don't want to leave any little bugger in there to come back ten-fold.

I'll try to stay on top of these Lupi updates, but have patience because our lives have become very hectic because of this disease. Lupi gets gravy 4-5 times a day, he goes to work with me, which also means that I cannot stay out of the house for more than 5 hours at a time unless I have Lupi, gravy and a microwave with me. He's also getting a lot of meds (herbal and prescribed) as well as separate run time. And this all on top of our normal cleaning and playtime...it takes a very long time each night to get things done around the house.

So, I'll do my best, that's all I can do.

In the meantime, I have pictures and videos you can check out at
http://www.youtube.com/user/FerretMommio
http://picasaweb.google.com/craftyweasels
http://gallery.haager.net/v/aahaager/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ferretmommio/

And you can always order crochet eggs toys at http://www.ferretdreamsusa.com The sales help to pay for Lupi's meds and office visits right now. I'm hoping to add some bedding and crochet ferrets soon, so check back often.

Dooks & Dances

Lupi's Test Results - part 2

So I don't know much more than I did the last time I posted. However, I have more questions. I just posted to the Ferret Health List and will post that up later along with responses. But for now, I have the results and you can see them at Lupi's Test Results Feb 2009. I'm a little upset right now because the vet told us that Lupi does NOT have insulinoma. According to the results, Lupi's glucose is at 44. The norm is 90-120 with 70-80 being worrisome. So his levels are extremely low which indicates insulinoma. Hopefully I will have more answers for you tomorrow.

Sluggish Dooks & Dances *sigh*

Lupi's test results - part 1

We got back most of Lupi's test results today. I will get a copy of the results to share tomorrow (hopefully) but until then, this is what the vet told me.

Lupi's glucose is low, not extremely low, but low nonetheless. However, the vet said his insulinoma results weren't back yet. I guess I thought the glucose levels were the test for this, but apparently I was wrong. So I should get that info tomorrow (hence the part 1 in the title). We are to keep light karo syrup in the house for times when Lupi seems to be crashing or dazing out. I've always heard this, but never needed it. From now on, our house will have both karo syrup and honey.

Lupi had his left adrenal gland removed back in April of last year. Well, apparently, it MIGHT be necessary to remove the right as well. I knew we should have done them at the same time, but I let the vet bully me into not having it done. Now I know better. But, we'll decide whether that's an urgent issue once we find out the result of the insulinoma test.

The vet also did a urinalysis. Lupi has RODS (not sure exactly what that is however) but I believe it's a UTI (urinary tract infection). If they're not the same, he's got them both. I'll find out more tomorrow. Lupi had a UTI back around the time he had his surgery. He "dribbles" urine all the time, and this is what we believe is causing the recurring UTIs. We're going to put him on Baytril again starting tomorrow for 10-14 days. We are probably going to have to try to have him on some sort of antibiotic for this every month or so according to the vet. Aside from surgery, he doesn't know of any drug that will cure the dribbling.

Also, the vet said his Alphos (sp?) is HIGH. I'm not sure what this is either or the spelling of it as you can tell, but again, I'll try to find out more tomorrow. Anyway, the norm is less than 45 and Lupi's level is 310! So yeah, even though I'm not 100% on what it is, I still know it's bad.

So, for now we wait for more test results and start him on the Baytril. I will post again tomorrow to give more information.

Dooks & Dances

Lupi Update

Lupi has been keeping steady...well, not too steady. We have not had another episode where he can't potty. So that's good news. We did have a little scare the other night when I went into the ferret room and he was kind of dazed with his head on the floor and his butt in the air. We pulled him out of the room and him and his daddy lay on the kitchen floor on a 'bed' that I made for them. They cuddled for a minute and off Lupi went. He was out of the ferret room, he had things to explore.

So after gravy and playtime, he seemed fine and we didn't worry too much. I woke one morning with my mind made up. It was time for some basic tests to get things checked out to see how he was really doing. So Lupi went to the vet this morning. But first, he had to get a bath...



Everything is better with ferretone!

The vet took what urine he could and blood. He's basically getting the works. They're going to be testing for whatever they can; urinalysis, bg, insulinoma, etc. We should get those results back in a week if I remember correctly.

We also had the vet check Lupi's ears for ear mites. We've had a couple of ferrets that had earmites before, Lupi was one of them. We use Revolution which is supposed to help prevent ear mites. However, we don't use it monthly, so we still got the mites. Adrian and I got to look through the microscope at the little bugger and came home with some meds to give to all the ferts. If you haven't guessed, Lupi has ear mites. *sigh*

So we have to put this ear stuff in all 14 of our ferrets ears twice a week for 4 weeks. We have to do all the ferrets because if we do just one, the other ferrets may have them and spread them back to Lupi....so they all get treated. The joys of owning multiple animals.

Lupi will stay on the Fenpecia and herbs for now. Once the test results come back, we'll see where we need to go from there.

Dooks & Dances

Hikari's tooth picture (After)

Hikari did very well having her tooth removed this past Friday. The doctor said it just kind of fell out. Well, not really, but it came out very easy. The root had already started to rot a little, so it came out in time to keep it from reaching the other teeth. Here's a picture the day after the extraction.



Hikari was wide awake by the time we got her home. She'll be on her antibiotics through this Friday. So she's back to her "terrible two" self.

Dooks & Dances

Hikari's tooth picture

Here's the before picture of Hikari's tooth. I'll get another picture after the vet does his thing and she's feeling better. The pictures don't actually do the gums justice as she really is missing a large area around the tooth that is coming out. But hopefully you get the idea. The second picture is just a closer area cropped out of the first picture.

Ugly Cars #2

Wow, the title of this one says it all! This car really does remind me of "#2" ICK!

Just a quick note: So everyone understands that I'm not thinking myself better than others, I think our personal cars are pretty ugly too. The paint is either fading or peeling, the weather stripping is cracking, Adrian's car leaks rain water, and both cars have a lot of mechanical issues. But please don't tell that to our cars as they need to last us another year or more ^.^

Back to the ugly car of the week...We were outside working on my car (the breaks needed replacing) and this car comes "thumping" down the street in slow motion. It's like he's telling the world to look at his car! So I'm outside with 3 men and we're all looking at this car as it drives in slow motion around the cul-de-sac, all 4 of us thinking the same thing "If my car was that ugly, I wouldn't be drawing attention to it" And I know we were all thinking it, because we all started laughing and someone actually said this statement out loud, which made us all just laugh harder.



And, as if the first time around wasn't humiliating enough, the dude came back less than 20 minutes later doing the same thing. That's actually how I got these pictures, because I couldn't get my camera fast enough the first time...we were all in shock!

A

Ferret Teeth

Hikari went to the vet yesterday afternoon because the gums around one of her upper incisors was receding. It looks to be a little infected and possibly even starting to rot a little. We had not noticed anything until the day before yesterday when we were clipping nails. Fortunately, we caught it before it infected the other teeth. The vet has put her on some antibiotics to help the infection. She goes back this Friday at 10:40 am to have the tooth removed. She will be on the antibiotics until next Friday.

Ferrets' teeth are extremely small, but the incisors are the smallest teeth. There are 6 tiny teeth between their canines, totalling a span of MAYBE half an inch. So yeah, they're teeny tiny. I'm going to try to get some before and after shots of her tooth, so you can see what I'm talking about when I post up the pics.

Friday is not going to be a full surgery thing. The vet said it's a quick thing that can be done while we wait. He'll have to give her some gas and numb the area and pull the tooth. The reason he wants her on the antibiotics before the extraction is so that if there is an infection, it doesn't get worse or spread.

Hikari will be just fine without this tooth. These teeth are used mainly for cleaning and she's got 5 more on the top and 6 more on the bottom. Plus, Lupi had one of his canines removed and he's doing fine. They just have to get used to the difference.

Dooks & Dances