| Help for a sick, aggressive ferret - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Happy Camper |
We have a 6-year old white male ferret who became sick about a month and a
half ago (almost 2 months now). He had some sort of stomach trouble. We had
him on antibiotic and medicine for his stomach and tried flagyl (which we
could not get in him at all). We hand fed him and gave him our own version
of duck soup. Our vet (who is ferret knowledgeable) was not sure what was
causing it. He is getting Lupron once a month for adrenal as well. She
thought there might be an enlarged lymph, too. We finally got him back to
eating fairly regular and his stool has been, for the most part, very good.
However, he has never put his weight back on fully and recently has become
very aggressive. Not to the other ferrets but to us and the carpet and our
slippers! He has always like biting on velcro but has started biting the
hall rugs and our slippers (while we're wearing them) very, very vigorously.
In the past week he as taken to trying to bite our hands and ankles very
hard. We're sure it's because he is still feeling sick but don't know how
to deal with it other than keeping him in a cage 24-7. (All of our ferrets
have free roam of our small, ferret-proofed house).
Has anyone had an experience like this or any suggestions. Is there any
medicine (and we are talking to the vet in the next day or two about this)
that can keep him calmer? We have just started him on the flagyl that is
put on the skin and we're hoping that might have an effect, but so far after
two days there seems to be none.
Apprecriating any helpful suggestions.
HC
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| lin |
"Happy Camper" <dcwhitemannospam@comcast.net> wrote
(snippage)
> He is getting Lupron once a month for adrenal as well.
I'd bet the rent that's whats causing the aggression. When 2 of my 4 ferrets
became adrenal, one of the very *first* signs was aggression, in both of
them. Once they had surgery to remove the affected gland, the aggression
went away.
Is there a reason your guy can't have surgery to remove the offending gland?
Surgery really is the only sure-fire method of getting rid of adrenal
disease.
--
Lin, Ariel, Oberon, Max, & Puck
To email me back, take out everything from "K" to "2"
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| Happy Camper |
"lin" <ktnil@KAZMOMX2woh.rr.com> wrote in message
news:POeRd.33735$XY5.9701@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
>
> I'd bet the rent that's whats causing the aggression. When 2 of my 4
> ferrets became adrenal, one of the very *first* signs was aggression, in
> both of them. Once they had surgery to remove the affected gland, the
> aggression went away.
>
> Is there a reason your guy can't have surgery to remove the offending
> gland? Surgery really is the only sure-fire method of getting rid of
> adrenal disease.
>
Thanks for the input. The vet thinks because of his age and his stomach
problems he is not a good candidate for surgery. :-( He's been on Lupron
for about 6 months before the other problem hit. We're thinking there might
be other underlying causes as well (lymphocarmo perhaps) that is adding to
this whole mess. Really quite discouraging as he used to be the sweetest
little fellow (big fellow really). Thanks again for the input.
HC
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| Happy Camper |
"lin" <ktnil@KAZMOMX2woh.rr.com> wrote in message
news:POeRd.33735$XY5.9701@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
>
> I'd bet the rent that's whats causing the aggression. When 2 of my 4
> ferrets became adrenal, one of the very *first* signs was aggression, in
> both of them. Once they had surgery to remove the affected gland, the
> aggression went away.
>
> Is there a reason your guy can't have surgery to remove the offending
> gland? Surgery really is the only sure-fire method of getting rid of
> adrenal disease.
>
Thanks for the input. The vet thinks because of his age and his stomach
problems he is not a good candidate for surgery. :-( He's been on Lupron
for about 6 months before the other problem hit. We're thinking there might
be other underlying causes as well (lymphocarmo perhaps) that is adding to
this whole mess. Really quite discouraging as he used to be the sweetest
little fellow (big fellow really). Thanks again for the input.
HC
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| jumpingmouse, kylie & gilbert |
Maybe add melatonin along with the Lupron? While some call it snake oil,
others do swear by it. I don't have any experience with it, but in a pinch,
I'd probably try it for lack of other options. Dunno, just wishing there
was more options for you. So sorry for your little guy not feeling well.
jacquie, kylie & gilbert
"Happy Camper" <dcwhitemannospam@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:VeydncWAxvb_4YjfRVn-vw@giganews.com...
>
> "lin" <ktnil@KAZMOMX2woh.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:POeRd.33735$XY5.9701@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
>
>>
>> I'd bet the rent that's whats causing the aggression. When 2 of my 4
>> ferrets became adrenal, one of the very *first* signs was aggression, in
>> both of them. Once they had surgery to remove the affected gland, the
>> aggression went away.
>>
>> Is there a reason your guy can't have surgery to remove the offending
>> gland? Surgery really is the only sure-fire method of getting rid of
>> adrenal disease.
>>
>
> Thanks for the input. The vet thinks because of his age and his stomach
> problems he is not a good candidate for surgery. :-( He's been on Lupron
> for about 6 months before the other problem hit. We're thinking there
> might be other underlying causes as well (lymphocarmo perhaps) that is
> adding to this whole mess. Really quite discouraging as he used to be the
> sweetest little fellow (big fellow really). Thanks again for the input.
>
> HC
>
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| jumpingmouse, kylie & gilbert |
Maybe add melatonin along with the Lupron? While some call it snake oil,
others do swear by it. I don't have any experience with it, but in a pinch,
I'd probably try it for lack of other options. Dunno, just wishing there
was more options for you. So sorry for your little guy not feeling well.
jacquie, kylie & gilbert
"Happy Camper" <dcwhitemannospam@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:VeydncWAxvb_4YjfRVn-vw@giganews.com...
>
> "lin" <ktnil@KAZMOMX2woh.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:POeRd.33735$XY5.9701@fe2.columbus.rr.com...
>
>>
>> I'd bet the rent that's whats causing the aggression. When 2 of my 4
>> ferrets became adrenal, one of the very *first* signs was aggression, in
>> both of them. Once they had surgery to remove the affected gland, the
>> aggression went away.
>>
>> Is there a reason your guy can't have surgery to remove the offending
>> gland? Surgery really is the only sure-fire method of getting rid of
>> adrenal disease.
>>
>
> Thanks for the input. The vet thinks because of his age and his stomach
> problems he is not a good candidate for surgery. :-( He's been on Lupron
> for about 6 months before the other problem hit. We're thinking there
> might be other underlying causes as well (lymphocarmo perhaps) that is
> adding to this whole mess. Really quite discouraging as he used to be the
> sweetest little fellow (big fellow really). Thanks again for the input.
>
> HC
>
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| Jason and Holly Harper |
I was going to say the same thing as Lin and as Jacquie. Although, I have
to wonder if you opened him up for adrenal surgery, maybe you'd at least
find an answer to his stomach woes. But that also means, you might find out
that it's lymphoma, in which case, you'd have to decide whether or not it
would be best to wake him up from surgery. :( Yours would be tough shoes
to be in right now. But what could the melatonin hurt? If it's snake oil,
it won't do a thing. If it does work, then maybe it'll help with the
aggression. I have no experience with it though. Keep us posted.
Holly
"Happy Camper" <dcwhitemannospam@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:RtCdneriK_wR6ojfRVn-3w@giganews.com...
> We have a 6-year old white male ferret who became sick about a month and a
> half ago (almost 2 months now). He had some sort of stomach trouble. We
had
> him on antibiotic and medicine for his stomach and tried flagyl (which we
> could not get in him at all). We hand fed him and gave him our own version
> of duck soup. Our vet (who is ferret knowledgeable) was not sure what was
> causing it. He is getting Lupron once a month for adrenal as well. She
> thought there might be an enlarged lymph, too. We finally got him back to
> eating fairly regular and his stool has been, for the most part, very
good.
> However, he has never put his weight back on fully and recently has become
> very aggressive. Not to the other ferrets but to us and the carpet and our
> slippers! He has always like biting on velcro but has started biting the
> hall rugs and our slippers (while we're wearing them) very, very
vigorously.
> In the past week he as taken to trying to bite our hands and ankles very
> hard. We're sure it's because he is still feeling sick but don't know how
> to deal with it other than keeping him in a cage 24-7. (All of our ferrets
> have free roam of our small, ferret-proofed house).
>
> Has anyone had an experience like this or any suggestions. Is there
any
> medicine (and we are talking to the vet in the next day or two about this)
> that can keep him calmer? We have just started him on the flagyl that is
> put on the skin and we're hoping that might have an effect, but so far
after
> two days there seems to be none.
>
> Apprecriating any helpful suggestions.
>
> HC
>
>
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| henri-flectionnospam@clara.co.uk |
We have a 14 year old (yes 14!) female who became quite aggressive
towards people after a series of events, the most stressful of which
for her was loosing her 16yr old mother (Yes 16 yr old!). we took her
to the vets and he suggested another Ferret would be the cure. we
read up on Ferret behaviour and found that any owner should either
have at least 2 ferrets or none but never a single animal. Ferrets
are very social animals and need play freinds. We went out and found
2 polecat kits and they got on well together instantly although we did
leave it a few days before letting them in the hutch unsupervised, the
biting and the aggresion stopped instantly and we now have 2 x 9month
old Jills and 1 x 14yr old who play happily
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 00:05:00 -0500, "Happy Camper"
<dcwhitemannospam@comcast.net> wrote:
>We have a 6-year old white male ferret who became sick about a month and a
>half ago (almost 2 months now). He had some sort of stomach trouble. We had
>him on antibiotic and medicine for his stomach and tried flagyl (which we
>could not get in him at all). We hand fed him and gave him our own version
>of duck soup. Our vet (who is ferret knowledgeable) was not sure what was
>causing it. He is getting Lupron once a month for adrenal as well. She
>thought there might be an enlarged lymph, too. We finally got him back to
>eating fairly regular and his stool has been, for the most part, very good.
>However, he has never put his weight back on fully and recently has become
>very aggressive. Not to the other ferrets but to us and the carpet and our
>slippers! He has always like biting on velcro but has started biting the
>hall rugs and our slippers (while we're wearing them) very, very vigorously.
>In the past week he as taken to trying to bite our hands and ankles very
>hard. We're sure it's because he is still feeling sick but don't know how
>to deal with it other than keeping him in a cage 24-7. (All of our ferrets
>have free roam of our small, ferret-proofed house).
>
> Has anyone had an experience like this or any suggestions. Is there any
>medicine (and we are talking to the vet in the next day or two about this)
>that can keep him calmer? We have just started him on the flagyl that is
>put on the skin and we're hoping that might have an effect, but so far after
>two days there seems to be none.
>
> Apprecriating any helpful suggestions.
>
>HC
>
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