Vibes for the ferts

AllieMackie

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#1
Seems that JessLough and I might have a few issues on our hands. :(

I'll let Jess speak for herself, but she's discovered some potentially serious health things with Rogue. The vet will know more.

Palom... Jess and I discerned that he has a hairball issue. This is partially my fault for not giving some laxative as a preventative measure. Hairballs can quickly become intestinal blockages that can prove fatal if not tended to. I'm giving him a dose a few times today, and we have a vet visit scheduled for tomorrow morning, since both of my furkids need their vaccinations and yearly exam done anyway.

Please send vibes that both of us wind up with minimal vet bills and the best-case scenarios. :( Finances are a little tight for me right now so this is especially stressful.
 

Labyrinth

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#3
Best of luck to all the ferts. Depending on the size of the hairball, your vet may be able to manipulate it so Palom can pass it. Has he been grinding his teeth at all?
 

JessLough

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#4
I am going to be up all night worrying until I hear news about our Palom-bear :(

As far as Rogue goes, I am not sure what it is at the moment. We have a vet appointment for Rogue (and Renegade) Thursday at 11:15, but it seems like it is either heart disease, lymphosarcoma (most common ferret cancer), pneumonia or heartworms. None of which are exactly a good scenerio, and all of which are potentially enormous vet bills. Sounds like we may need to do Xrays or something. Not too sure what to do... I am pretty worried :(

Thanks for the vibes guys, have no idea what we will do if something needs to be done for either of our boys!
 

FoxyWench

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#5
what is making you think isnt doing good? looks big and healthy in the pics.

heres hoping its something treateable and not too expensive, and lots of luvins for palom too!
 

JessLough

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#7
what is making you think isnt doing good? looks big and healthy in the pics.

heres hoping its something treateable and not too expensive, and lots of luvins for palom too!
He is big.. but I think it is more fat then healthy big. Also, he has been having labored breathing, and I can see him breathing a lot heavier then the other ferrets. He also seems to get tired really really quickly, to the point where he lays down to breathe, then restarts running around.
 

FoxyWench

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#8
gotcha...
well heres to hoping hes just fat and out of shape and not actually ill...and if he is ill, heres to hoping its seomthing easily fixed without expensive surgery.
 

Brattina88

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#9
:( oh no!

Vibes coming your way! I hope it's boning serious for ether of them. Hopefully the hairball clears ok and the newb isn't seriously sick ;) I've known quite a few ferts to have URIs. I'll be checking for an update obsessivly!!
 

AllieMackie

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#10
Thanks for all the vibes, guys. <3

Palom is eating and drinking fine, which is a good sign. He pukes up a little kibble, but that's because he's trying to hack the hairball and his most recent food comes up too. Most of his food is staying down fine, and he's drinking lots.

I'm giving him a teeny squirt of Ferret Lax every hour, as one of the local ferret rescue folks said it's better to give it to them that way than a half teaspoon every 2-3 hours like the tube says. His poop is runnier now, so it's hard to tell if it's still ribbony. I guess we'll see.

He's napping curled up with Porom right now. I'm not fretting badly, but I am worried about him. :( I'm doing my best not to let it get to me until we know for sure.

I'll post after the vet tomorrow.
 

JessLough

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#12
Dropped the boys off at home before work today. Left my parents with specific instructions to call me if anything was wrong. Well, I got 2 phone calls within half an hour of leaving my house o_O

First one, Rogue decided that as soon as he finished drinking and eating, he was going to suck on one of Rascal's pacifiers. And chew it up. And eat all the little pieces. Then proceed to vomit all the pieces up. Thankfully, he did puke it up instead of letting it cause a blockage... I only hope he puked it all up.

Second one, was on a good note. Rather, a really cute one. Rogue went to take a nap in a hammock. Ren, being the lover that he is, brought a blanket up to Rogue, proceeded to cover Rogue with it, then lay beside him. Lover boy must know that Rogue is not feeling too good :) <3 I have noticed with Ren, that he seems to pick up on these things. Like, during play time, every time that Palom would carpet shark and start to heave... Ren ran over to him and lay right up next to him, snuggling him. I am kind of sad I missed him covering Rogue, though.
 

AllieMackie

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#14
So, Palom's still at the vet. The vet agrees that there may be a blockage of some sort, but the x-ray didn't show any large gas pockets or anything. He's getting a dose of barium, and then another x-ray to see what can be concluded.

Everything else health-wise is normal for him, except for the weight loss and the pooping... the vet said everything else looked okay. So... we'll see. We go back at 1:30, so I'll update when I'm home.
 

AllieMackie

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#15
Back from the vet, with Palom. :)

Long story short: It's not a blockage, but we're not out of the woods entirely. His barium-loaded x-ray showed that his tract is clear. However, he's still having troubles pooping a bit. He's been sent home with me, and I'm still giving him doses of Ferret Lax and duck soup.

If there's no difference tomorrow, or if he gets worse, I'm back to the vet. There's a good chance it could be helicobacter, a gastric disease that is, thankfully, treatable with medication when caught on time.

It's NOT a huge blockage though, which was my initial fear, so I'm counting my blessings!

Please continue giving us vibes for a speedy recovery. I can't wait for my snuggleboy to be back on his feet and healthy again. I loves my Palombear.

Just for fun, here are his x-rays. They gave me a CD with the x-rays on them to take home. They look really cool! I've linked them instead of posting them, because they're sort of big.

Laying on his stomach.
http://www.knittingninja.com/photos/ferts/2010Jan/xray-1.jpg

This one was a dud for x-ray purposes because he squirmed, but it's my fave. Look at his feets!
http://www.knittingninja.com/photos/ferts/2010Jan/xray-2.jpg

Side view. At this point we decided he needed barium, which is why he stayed at the vet for the afternoon.
http://www.knittingninja.com/photos/ferts/2010Jan/xray-3.jpg

Post-barium x-ray. Ferret intestines are eeeverywhere. As you can see, the barium passed all the way though. :)
http://www.knittingninja.com/photos/ferts/2010Jan/xray-4.jpg

ETA: Also, JessLough is awesome. She came with me to the vet visits and was good moral support. :) Yay Jess! I'll be accompanying her to Rogue's appointment on Thursday.
 
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Labyrinth

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#16
I'm glad to hear there was no blockage :)

Thanks for posting the xrays, was pretty neat to see. When my little girl Sasha (RIP) had her hairball the vet was able to feel it externally so we never got her xrayed before her surgery.

What is the trouble with his pooping? Has he been constipated or the poops themselves just look off? Had he had any trouble urinating?
 

Brattina88

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#17
I'm glad it isn't bad blockage! I hope he starts feelinging better soon!!!

The x-rays were very cool to see! Thanks for sharing :D
 

AllieMackie

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#18
I'm glad to hear there was no blockage :)

Thanks for posting the xrays, was pretty neat to see. When my little girl Sasha (RIP) had her hairball the vet was able to feel it externally so we never got her xrayed before her surgery.

What is the trouble with his pooping? Has he been constipated or the poops themselves just look off? Had he had any trouble urinating?
His poops have been coming out ribbony. Sometimes he tries to poop and nothing comes out, or the poop is small and runny.

This usually indicates a blockage, but can be symptoms of helicobacter as well.
 

AllieMackie

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#19
He's about the same this morning... looking like helicobacter.

Going back to the vet for 3:30pm. He probably needs another x-ray, too. :( I will really have to do an AlliePets commission drive when this is all done.

Vibes and love for my poor little Palombear.
 

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