Ferret Aid 2006

I was lucky enough to get to go to Ferret Aid 2006 this past weekend in Mississauga, Ontario. It was absolutely amazing! I'd never been to an actual conference before, just ferret shows, so this was a totally new experience for me. I got to hear some amazing speakers that are well known in the ferret community, including Dr. Bruce Williams, Dr. Jerry Murray, Bob Church, Dr. Karen Purcell and others. Subjects spoken about included insulinoma, new adrenal surgical techniques, ADV, behavioral problems, ferret enrichment and so many more. Saturday night there was a "speaker dinner" where we all got to sit with one of the speakers, and I got to sit with Dr. Williams and pick his brain! It was fascinating. I have good vets for my fuzzies, but it was really nice to get the opinion of vets who are so well known and respected in the fuzzy world. They've definitely given me some ideas on how to change the medical care I give to my ferrets in the future.

I also got to see a black footed ferret!! Travis Livieri works in the effort to successfully bring back the black footed ferret (they are endangered), and he had one brought over from the Toronto Zoo. It was adorable!!

Of course, I don't have pictures of any of this, since I forgot my digital camera!! I did take some pics with a disposable camera though, so hopefully I'll have the developed and scanned in soon.



This tip of the day comes straight from the advice I got from Dr. Williams! While ulcers can be caused by an overabundance of helicobacter, it isn't always. Dr. Williams recommends treating the ulcers first, as heliobacter isn't a life threatening disease and ulcers can be. This means starting only with Carafate, and waiting to use the Amoxi and Biaxin (antibiotics). The reason for this is that the antibiotics can be very stressful for the ferrets, and it's best to eliminate all sources of stress for a ferret with gastric ulcers.

Tags

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ferret, ferrets, Insulinoma, Adrenal Disease, Ferret Aid 2006, Adrenal Surgery, Bob Church, Dr. Bruce Williams, Ferret Enrichment, Dr. Jerry Murray, Dr. Karen Purcell, ADV

Finally Home

I'm finally home again, as of Sunday night. Mom and I left Florida Saturday morning, and had a stop-over near Charlotte, NC Saturday night. We almost ended up not stopping and driving straight though instead. Steve called around 4:30 Saturday afternoon because Cheeba was throwing up and pawing at his mouth. Another ulcer outbreak. The emergency vet hospital called in a prescription for Amoxi & Carafate to the CVS around the corner of our house. Steve ran over to pick it up and start Cheeba on the regiment right away. Cheeba hasn't had any more vomiting episodes, and he's pigging out on baby food, so hopefully he's improving.

I'm getting concerned about the frequency of his ulcer episodes. I'm sure that the prednisolone is exacerbating an already touchy situation, but without the pred, his blood glucose levels will be all over the place. I have Cimetidine to give him. This is supposed to get rid of excess stomach acid, but he gets so stressed when I give it to him - gagging, pawing at his mouth, etc - that I'm afraid to. It's compounded, but he still seems to hate it. I'm worried that at some point his ulcers are going to perforate, and I'm going to lose him.

Sophie had a low blood sugar episode Sunday evening. We brought her out of it fairly easily, but Steve says she's been a little lethargic lately. We upped her pred that evening, and she seems to be doing better now. We hadn't upped it in about 5 months, so it's not surprising that we needed to now.

I'm sorry if my post seems somewhat scattered - it's a reflection of my thoughts. Mom left this morning to go up to her parents' house near Buffalo, and this is the first time since everything happened that I haven't had family around. It's kind of...strange. It makes everything more real. At least I have my fuzzies with me again - they and Steve will help me through this.

Tags

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ferret, ferrets, Ulcers

More sad news, though not of a ferret nature

I haven't been at the computer for the past couple weeks, so I wasn't able to post. I've been down in Florida since May 26, and even though I'm writing this post on my laptop next to a pool in an absolutely beautiful setting, my heart is heavy. The day after we helped Mojo to the bridge, my dad went into surgery. The surgery seemed to go fine, but that night his heart stopped. They were able to bring him back, but he never came out of a coma. We turned off life support on Monday, May 29. It's been really tough the past couple weeks, but we're dealing. The ferrets are up with Steve in PA, and he's taking good care of them for me. I miss them so much. Less than I miss my dad right now, obviously, but getting through this without fuzzy love isn't making it any easier. I usually turn to them when I'm upset, and they make it better. So I've been asking Steve for twice daily updates on them

They seem to be getting over their grief for Mojo. At least they're playing again, rather than sleeping all together in a lump like they're afraid one of them is going to disappear if they don't keep each other in sight at all times. Cheeba is finished with his ulcer medication, and he's doing well. Steve said he's (Cheeba, not Steve) being a real brat, per usual. Sophie's diarrhea that she's had since the end of March (when she got her first Melatonin implant and went on Biaxin for 2 weeks) has cleared up. Jebabba is pigging out on baby food more and more, and putting on some weight. His poop is also looking better, without the weird jelly like substance he had for a while. Bonk is still his crazy little self, running around like a lunatic. That is one ferret that will always be a kit at heart.

So I sit here, with a Florida breeze wafting the smell of the ocean at me, and I think about my ferrets so I don't have to think about my Dad, hoping that the peacefulness of the afternoon will rub off on me just a little. I love you, Dad. Say hello to my fuzzies up there - I know you had a soft spot for them, no matter what you told me!

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ferret, ferrets, Melatonin, Florida