Flip Flop

Wow! It's been forever since my last post!! A lot has been going on and so I'm so far behind my editing and posting! :)

Currently, we are going through a semi-rough time. I say "semi" because it's about an animal and I know there are people out there going through worse...but this is MY animal...so it's still rough ;) Anyway, Flip has been going through his shedding season the last few weeks. Which means that I have to chase him down with a brush and lint roller everyday! (the lint roller is for me because when I am done I am COVERED in hair! haha) I also take a lint roller to their hammock once a day and change the whole thing out at least every two weeks. On top of that, they are fed ferret lax to help pass any hair balls starting to form. That doesn't always keep it from happening, but usually I can catch the signs in time and just give him extra ferret lax.

Unfortunately, hairballs aren't the only things that can obstruct these little guys up and we have also been through that. About three years ago, he became very sick. Devin and I knew he wasn't feeling good when we left for Kansas, but we told his mom what to do and figured he would be okay. Well, he just got worse. So we rushed home to Olustee, made an appt with a ferret vet in the city, and left early the next morning to take him. He was so pitiful looking. I had a friend who had to put her ferret to sleep because the surgery was too expensive and we were in the same boat as her. I couldn't make the decision to end a life...even an animal's (ummm not counting fishing haha) so that night...I prayed that my little guy would either pass away in his sleep or would pass whatever was in his tummy.

I checked his litter box first thing in the morning and was never so happy to see poop in my life! haha I could tell that it definitely had something in it as well so I scooped it up and put it in a baggie for the vet. (That's what the Ferrets for Dummies book said to do)

I was happy to find that the Vet was an OSU grad because I had read that they have a little more training on ferrets...and I was even more happy to learn that he was also a ferret owner!! So...long story short...he examined what I brought him and found that it contained the rubber piece that covers the earpiece on headphones!! A few weeks later, when I was cleaning behind the bed, I found the rest of headphones. Evidently, Flip had eaten more of it but it passed through without much problem. The rubber piece sat in his stomach for awhile and then once it finally decided to make an exit...it became stuck in the intestines and stayed there for awhile. We didn't notice anything wrong for several weeks until it became stuck in the intestines. When he recovered from all that...he was like a brand new ferret. He was more lively that he had been since we first got him. We never had a clue that a time bomb was inside him :( But, that story ended happily.

Fast forward several years. Friday, Devin and I were once again packing to leave for Kansas. Once again, I could tell something was up. But he ate his ferret lax just fine, had a healthy sized accident on the floor, and was playing some....so we continued with our trip. We were only going to be gone for a day anyway. Well, why we were up there we heard that he was looking worse. Sigh.

As soon as we got home we knew it was happening all over again. Only this time we knew better and we had been so careful!! We haven't lived in this house long so we don't have anything out for him to be able to get into! He only has free roam in the living room, kitchen, and office so we felt pretty sure he had a hairball gone wrong. By now he wasn't eating or drinking and since we had both ferrets in the same cage, we couldn't tell if he was using the bathroom. Ferrets have a short digestive tract...approximately 2-3 hours long...so it's important for them to eat and drink often. Unfortunately, being "backed up" was also contributing to him being dehydrated. Just like with humans, the longer your BM stays inside you, the harder it gets. The intestines soak up the fluid which makes it hard for the BM to pass...no fun. So after giving him fluids with a syringe, we left to find an emergency clinic that had some experience with ferrets.

Luckily, we found one! The COVE, here in Norman, has a Vet who is also a ferret owner! Score! So after some x-rays, he confirmed our thoughts. Flip had an obstruction. However, the Vet wasn't sure it was just a hairball. Which means bad news because...a hairball would likely pass given time and ferret lax/pumpkin pie filling. An obstruction has less of a chance of passing and if it does there is most likely damage done inside. Lucky for us, the first time he had an obstruction it was soft and round. We couldn't tell what it was in the x-ray, or even if it was anything at all. So he gave us some medicine for his gas and gave him fluids. He instructed us to continue giving him fluids throughout the night and try the pie filling in the morning.

When we got home, Flip and I made ourselves comfy on the couch and put in a season 2 Grey's Anatomy DVD. It was the only way I'd stay awake! You can't fall asleep while watching Grey's ;) Every hour or so, I'd give him water or powerade...much to his dislike. But him putting up a fight was a good sign to me. He had a few messy BM's throughout the night that didn't contain much and by this afternoon he had stopped going again. Plus his gas wasn't going away.

So this evening, we went off to the Vets again. Only this time a little less hopeful. We both don't want him to suffer but we don't want to give up on him too soon. So we had no idea what to tell the Vet. We decided that we would ask for another x-ray (another $50) and see if the possible obstruction had moved any. This time, the Vet couldn't see it. Flip definitely had more gas, but all he could see was the BM stuck inside. We didn't know if that was good or bad. I asked him what he would do if it were his ferret. (surgery vs conservative methods) He answered by saying that it wasn't a fair question for him since the surgery would be free for him. Sigh. He told us to continue with what we had been doing and see if he made any improvements by the morning. The fact that he was holding down everything I gave him was a good sign.

I'm on baby sitting duty right now while Devin sleeps and unfortunately, I'm finished with my Grey's Anatomy. So I'm going through pictures and ran across these. One day I noticed him moving around a lot while he slept so I grabbed my point and shoot camera for some pics.






He is such a sweet boy and I really hope he gets better!! Sorry for the long post, hope it makes up for the weeks I went without posting haha.

xoxo
Brandi Sue