Question about Ferret's death
Jarlaxle
by just posting a question and not reading FAQs first. If this isn't
a big deal, pay no attention to the previous statement.. it's just
that in my normal ng, it's completly unacceptable to just ask without
checking FAQs first.
And secondly, this might bother some people, so, if you think you
might get upset, I'd suggest you do not read any further.
Well, I just found one of my ferrets ( I had 2) dead. She was slumped
out of her "bed" (it was one of those suspended bed things. She
didn't appear to be stuck on anything, and I saw nothing to point to
her strangling on anything on the cage. I also found no blood to
indicate that the other ferret had attacker her, or serious injury
from anything else. They also had plenty of food and water.
I inspected her, and the only thing I noticed strange was that her
stomach (below her ribcage) was quite fat. Honestly, I hadn't checked
up on them for probably about 36 hours, so could that have just been
an effect of being dead awhile?
Anyway, I just wanted to know if anyone had any clue as to what could
have caused this. She wasn't that old (maybe around 4 years old).
What did/didn't I do? I've had personally had her about 2 years.
If you have any ideas, or need more info, please let me know. I do
not want the same thing happening to the other ferret.
Jarlaxle
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Star & Troy
The only way to tell for sure would be to have an autopsy done.
I think the only thing you could have done different would have
been to check on them sooner. They shouldn't be left that long in their
cage,
if you are away and unable to check on them maybe a friend or relative
would be willing to check up on them for you?
The only way to help or prevent this sort of thing is to catch it fast and
get the
ferret to a vet.
Take care.
star
Jarlaxle <Jarla...@SPAMhotmail.com> wrote in message
news:37f99e49....@news.atl.bellsouth.net...
!ServCam Admin
>> stomach (below her ribcage) was quite fat. Honestly, I hadn't checked
>> up on them for probably about 36 hours, so could that have just been
>> an effect of being dead awhile?
Could be a result of her dead, but also could be because she swallowed
somehing like a piece of rubber or such. It's known for ferret to love
eating rubber although it's pretty lethal due to internal blocking. An
autopsy would be a very wise choice indeed, it might help you (and
others) taking better care of their fuzzies.. the more we learn, the
better and faster we can take the correct action in case of trouble.
Problem is with this type of things an X-ray would not show the rubber
:(
If what i described above is indeed the cause, go checking all rooms
and places to find what she has been chewing on and remove it
completely... Also watch for shoes (sport shoes) coz ours have been
sticking their heads into the shoes and bite on the inline sole, and
thus releasing foam rubber parts... possible hazard there as well!
Hope you'll let us know if you find out more,
!ServCam (2 Cams)
http://switch.to/ServCam
Jarlaxle
>
>> I inspected her, and the only thing I noticed strange was that her
>> stomach (below her ribcage) was quite fat. Honestly, I hadn't checked
>> up on them for probably about 36 hours, so could that have just been
>> an effect of being dead awhile?
>
>Okay, first, I'd like to agree with Star's post. 36 hours is a long time to leave your furkids without checking on them.
>I'd suggest checking on your remaining furkid a little more often, if only to give him/her some exercise and
>socialisation, as well as making sure you can see any changes in behaviour which can show signs of illness.
>
>Second, the time frame since checking may not necessarily mean that you had a chance to know anything was wrong, or get
>the ferret to a vet before they died, even if you'd been there at the first sign of trouble. Now, the stomach/area that
>was 'fat' - did that look like it was disproportionately large - like a blown up balloon? Sadly, I had a kit in my last
>litter who was doing well, although he was the runt of the litter. He would run, dook, dance and play as much as all the
>other kits without a problem. I checked on all the ferrets early in the evening before going out to a business meeting.
>I got home around three hours later and he was dead. His 'belly' was puffed up like a blown up balloon, and his rectum
>had prolapsed in a major way (I'm talking probably irreversible without surgery if he'd survived it) The necropsy showed
>(I can't remember the official name - sorry) what the vet explained as the intestines telescoping into itself. Only
>hours earlier, he'd been running, playing, and dancing, then suddenly he was gone.
>
>In the case of yours, I'd suspect that similar symptoms may be caused by a blockage of some kind, since your ferrets are
>adults (my kit had survived far longer than the vet had expected he would, as most deaths due to the cause of his death
>apparently occur around 4 weeks of age). Blockages can occur by eating anything from uncooked vegetables, plastic,
>rubber, cloth, even from a large hairball, or a myriad of other causes. In any cases where a death is sudden, or even
>wher you're unsure of the cause of death, or the ferret has an unusual illness, I suggest getting a necropsy as soon as
>possible, both for your peace of mind and so the vet can learn. I *have* heard of necropsy's *literally* saving the life
>of a ferret (well not the one that had the necropsy done!) which makes getting one even more preferable.
>
After reading the other responses I got, I went back to their room and
double checked to make sure there was nothing to choke on. They have
access to nothing except their food bowl (sturdy plastic), the water
bottle, and their cloth beds (which I saw no signs of chewing, but
that could just be me not seeing it.)
<snip>
>
>
>> -Getting NT 4 and Oracle 8 on a P60 (THIS one is not fun)
>
>After my last week and a half struggling with NT 4.0 hating my machine, then NT 4.0 hating my TCP/IP printer running
>with my TCP/IP 'net connection, I am quickly learning that NT 4.0 (and probably NT au total) is a PIA that needs
>shooting. Heaven forbid, I don't know how we got it running so quickly on the one machine, then take a week and a half
>for this one, and have the third one still down <sigh> Microsoft stinks, but wow, I thought NT 4.0 was supposed to be
>semi-reasonable. Guess not. I do NOT envy you the task of playing with NT let alone on a P60 - heck, bad enough on a
>P-166, PII-300 and PII-400 <sigh>
>
>Sam (who's still way behind on everything bar apf cause there's just too much email and work to do so is letting it
>slide until someone gets out the shotgun)
The problem I'm having with the NT thing is that it just CANNOT copy
some files. It keeps saying it can't copy file after file. It gets
maybe 3/4 copied correctly. It COULD be a bad CD, so I guess I'll
find out.
And yes.. NT DOES suck.. I absolutly DESPISE NT. My roomate wants me
to go ahead and just install Linus and the Linux version of Oracle on
it, but dammit... it's a mission now!! :)
Jarlaxle
PS: Thanks everyone for your help on the ferret matter. I'm speaking
with a friend who works at a vet about the necropsies and having
Muerty (the living ferret) checked out.
Helen Dudley Bates
>access to nothing except their food bowl (sturdy plastic), the water
>bottle, and their cloth beds (which I saw no signs of chewing, but
>that could just be me not seeing it.)
What do they have to play with?
- Helen
Helen Dudley Bates
>with a friend who works at a vet about the necropsies and having
>Muerty (the living ferret) checked out.
Just don't get Muerty necropsied, okay? = )
- Helen
Melissa
<Ser...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> Problem is with this type of things an X-ray would not show the rubber
> :(
Actually, yes it would. It might not be as visible as swallowing metal!
but rubber is usually visible on an xray.
william killian
>to go ahead and just install Linus and the Linux version of Oracle on
>it, but dammit... it's a mission now!! :)
I'll stick with my multiprocessor Sparcserver running Oracle... Heck that
one system was only a few months ago supporting the VA's network. Now its
mostly idle until I get time to get a modem working with it...
Sam
> First off, let me say sorry in advance if I'm breaking any ng "rules"
> by just posting a question and not reading FAQs first. If this isn't
> a big deal, pay no attention to the previous statement.. it's just
> that in my normal ng, it's completly unacceptable to just ask without
> checking FAQs first.
If you don't know, ask. People here tend to not mind answering questions, as long as it's worded nicely :o)
> I inspected her, and the only thing I noticed strange was that her
> stomach (below her ribcage) was quite fat. Honestly, I hadn't checked
> up on them for probably about 36 hours, so could that have just been
> an effect of being dead awhile?
Okay, first, I'd like to agree with Star's post. 36 hours is a long time to leave your furkids without checking on them.
I'd suggest checking on your remaining furkid a little more often, if only to give him/her some exercise and
socialisation, as well as making sure you can see any changes in behaviour which can show signs of illness.
Second, the time frame since checking may not necessarily mean that you had a chance to know anything was wrong, or get
the ferret to a vet before they died, even if you'd been there at the first sign of trouble. Now, the stomach/area that
was 'fat' - did that look like it was disproportionately large - like a blown up balloon? Sadly, I had a kit in my last
litter who was doing well, although he was the runt of the litter. He would run, dook, dance and play as much as all the
other kits without a problem. I checked on all the ferrets early in the evening before going out to a business meeting.
I got home around three hours later and he was dead. His 'belly' was puffed up like a blown up balloon, and his rectum
had prolapsed in a major way (I'm talking probably irreversible without surgery if he'd survived it) The necropsy showed
(I can't remember the official name - sorry) what the vet explained as the intestines telescoping into itself. Only
hours earlier, he'd been running, playing, and dancing, then suddenly he was gone.
In the case of yours, I'd suspect that similar symptoms may be caused by a blockage of some kind, since your ferrets are
adults (my kit had survived far longer than the vet had expected he would, as most deaths due to the cause of his death
apparently occur around 4 weeks of age). Blockages can occur by eating anything from uncooked vegetables, plastic,
rubber, cloth, even from a large hairball, or a myriad of other causes. In any cases where a death is sudden, or even
wher you're unsure of the cause of death, or the ferret has an unusual illness, I suggest getting a necropsy as soon as
possible, both for your peace of mind and so the vet can learn. I *have* heard of necropsy's *literally* saving the life
of a ferret (well not the one that had the necropsy done!) which makes getting one even more preferable.
> Anyway, I just wanted to know if anyone had any clue as to what could
> have caused this. She wasn't that old (maybe around 4 years old).
> What did/didn't I do? I've had personally had her about 2 years.
Unless ferrets or any pets are consistently checked on, played with and given attention to, you aren't going to know if
anything is wrong. A lot of pet owners will take their pet to the vet just because they 'know' that something is wrong,
but can't pinpoint *why*. I had one problem once where one of my girls was drinking more than normal and more energetic
than normal! Knowing this was abnormal behaviour for her, I took her to the vet, and found she had early signs of
getting a uterine infection (often fatal if not caught quickly) which cleared up quickly with treatment. Without
constant attention and time with the ferret, I wouldn't have seen that something was 'different' than normal.
> -Getting NT 4 and Oracle 8 on a P60 (THIS one is not fun)
After my last week and a half struggling with NT 4.0 hating my machine, then NT 4.0 hating my TCP/IP printer running
with my TCP/IP 'net connection, I am quickly learning that NT 4.0 (and probably NT au total) is a PIA that needs
shooting. Heaven forbid, I don't know how we got it running so quickly on the one machine, then take a week and a half
for this one, and have the third one still down <sigh> Microsoft stinks, but wow, I thought NT 4.0 was supposed to be
semi-reasonable. Guess not. I do NOT envy you the task of playing with NT let alone on a P60 - heck, bad enough on a
P-166, PII-300 and PII-400 <sigh>
Sam (who's still way behind on everything bar apf cause there's just too much email and work to do so is letting it
slide until someone gets out the shotgun)
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Sam
> The problem I'm having with the NT thing is that it just CANNOT copy
> some files. It keeps saying it can't copy file after file. It gets
> maybe 3/4 copied correctly. It COULD be a bad CD, so I guess I'll
> find out.
Note: I had the same problem and it was a bad CD ROM - the CD itself was fine, but my CD ROM refused to install NT. Got a new
CD ROM and it works like a charm. (Also, good excuse to upgrade the CD ROM, never adverse to that!)
> And yes.. NT DOES suck.. I absolutly DESPISE NT. My roomate wants me
> to go ahead and just install Linus and the Linux version of Oracle on
> it, but dammit... it's a mission now!! :)
Go for it <G>
Would like to hear how the necropsy went.
Sam
Helen Dudley Bates
>but rubber is usually visible on an xray.
Depends how thick it is. A tiny slice of rubber glove would not show up, but a
piece of a chew toy would show as an "unknown density."
- Helen
Testarossa
and possibly have him checked out by a vet too.
--
- Testa...@Cheerful.com
icq # 12410180
http://www.members.home.net/testarossa
Plus: Ginger (Lhasa Apso), Cisco and Cassy (Ferrets), Sydney (Budgie),
and Numberless Fish!
!ServCam Admin <Ser...@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:0gj6N5hUgW5QZW...@4ax.com...
> >> I inspected her, and the only thing I noticed strange was that her
> >> stomach (below her ribcage) was quite fat. Honestly, I hadn't checked
> >> up on them for probably about 36 hours, so could that have just been
> >> an effect of being dead awhile?
>
> Could be a result of her dead, but also could be because she swallowed
> somehing like a piece of rubber or such. It's known for ferret to love
> eating rubber although it's pretty lethal due to internal blocking. An
> autopsy would be a very wise choice indeed, it might help you (and
> others) taking better care of their fuzzies.. the more we learn, the
> better and faster we can take the correct action in case of trouble.
>
> Problem is with this type of things an X-ray would not show the rubber
>
>
Testarossa
heart. Ferrets should be played with personally at least 2 hours every day.
Missing something like this death is just the beginning of problems a ferret
could have without daily playtime. If it was only a one-time thing, excuse
me for critisizing. For basics and info on ferret care, and reasons for
health problems, please check out http://www.ferretcentral.org/faq/ .
--
- Testa...@Cheerful.com
icq # 12410180
http://www.members.home.net/testarossa
Plus: Ginger (Lhasa Apso), Cisco and Cassy (Ferrets), Sydney (Budgie),
and Numberless Fish!
Star & Troy <fox...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:7tcnfe$jeu$1...@ash.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> I'm sorry for your loss. It's a hard thing to loose a ferret.
> The only way to tell for sure would be to have an autopsy done.
> I think the only thing you could have done different would have
> been to check on them sooner. They shouldn't be left that long in their
> cage,
> if you are away and unable to check on them maybe a friend or relative
> would be willing to check up on them for you?
> The only way to help or prevent this sort of thing is to catch it fast and
> get the
> ferret to a vet.
>
> Take care.
>
> star
>
>
> Jarlaxle <Jarla...@SPAMhotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:37f99e49....@news.atl.bellsouth.net...
> > First off, let me say sorry in advance if I'm breaking any ng "rules"
> > by just posting a question and not reading FAQs first. If this isn't
> > a big deal, pay no attention to the previous statement.. it's just
> > that in my normal ng, it's completly unacceptable to just ask without
> > checking FAQs first.
> >
> > And secondly, this might bother some people, so, if you think you
> > might get upset, I'd suggest you do not read any further.
> >
> > Well, I just found one of my ferrets ( I had 2) dead. She was slumped
> > out of her "bed" (it was one of those suspended bed things. She
> > didn't appear to be stuck on anything, and I saw nothing to point to
> > her strangling on anything on the cage. I also found no blood to
> > indicate that the other ferret had attacker her, or serious injury
> > from anything else. They also had plenty of food and water.
> >
> > I inspected her, and the only thing I noticed strange was that her
> > stomach (below her ribcage) was quite fat. Honestly, I hadn't checked
> > up on them for probably about 36 hours, so could that have just been
> > an effect of being dead awhile?
> >
> > Anyway, I just wanted to know if anyone had any clue as to what could
> > have caused this. She wasn't that old (maybe around 4 years old).
> > What did/didn't I do? I've had personally had her about 2 years.
> >
Lisa The Ferret Haven By the Sea
>stomach (below her ribcage) was quite fat. Honestly, I hadn't checked
Well, here we go again...it may be similar to what is going on with one of my
ferts, Pele. She exhibited typical insulinoma behavior - lethargic, teeth
grinding, some kind of dark stools - not black, but not normal colored. Booked
the first available appt I could - ended up bringing her in first thing in the
morning. She had stopped eating ( I was forcefeeding and sub-q'ing ) but
couldn't keep her hydrated.
Long story short - we did barium xrays after getting her stabilized - and the
barium didn't move beyond a certain point in her intestines. *nothing* showed
in her intestines, other than severe bloating of the stomach and large
intestine. Surgery found intestinal cancer had blocked her intestine - causing
the bloat.
I'm not saying that this couldn't be what happened with your ferret - but Pele
was fine 2 days ago. She is currently recovering from surgery, and my wallet
will recover in a couple weeks....
Hugs to all the fuzzies....and hoping that Pele will be with us for a couple
more years - she's Dijon's sister....
Lisa, Head Ferret
The Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea"
URL: http: www.kozykingdom.com/ferrethaven
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by cutting and pasting this link:
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