ilovetoshoot12345 0 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 (edited) i have 8 kits at the moment. there 8 weeks old. One of them seems to have a twisted upper spine by his ribs one side of the ribs feels flat the other side feels normal , this kit has never been as active as the others and never seems to walk as much as the others , but ive never noticed the twisted spine untill today well it feels like the spine but he seems as happy as usual i'll take him to the vets tomorrow, but i would imagine that as ferrets are small animals they will go down hill fast. and he's also my favorite out of the litter so please any help will be appreitated. i'll have to keep him as a pet. is this common in ferrets or am i just unlucky.? Edited July 30, 2008 by ilovetoshoot12345 Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 I wouldnt say its common in ferrets no, if the animal isnt suffering or does not have a crap quality of life i see no reason to not keep it, if however it begins to deterierate or it becomes evident its suffering have the animal pts Quote Link to post
ilovetoshoot12345 0 Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 I wouldnt say its common in ferrets no, if the animal isnt suffering or does not have a crap quality of life i see no reason to not keep it, if however it begins to deterierate or it becomes evident its suffering have the animal pts at the moment he's not suffering from what i can see but wouldn't a ferret go downhill fast? Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 I wouldnt say its common in ferrets no, if the animal isnt suffering or does not have a crap quality of life i see no reason to not keep it, if however it begins to deterierate or it becomes evident its suffering have the animal pts at the moment he's not suffering from what i can see but wouldn't a ferret go downhill fast? well only time will tell , if the animals not eating & not able to get about then its the time you act Quote Link to post
sue 1 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 sorry to hear that mate ,if the ferret is eating and seems happy then it should be ok but only you can see if things arnt right and then the best thing for it would be to have it put to sleep ,we have all had these decisions to make it is hard on us but kinder on the animal Quote Link to post
ilovetoshoot12345 0 Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 (edited) ive rung a freind which is also in medicine and she thinks that it could be calcuim deficiency as when the ferrets eat the chicken thighs there not eating the bones which contian the calcium its starting to make sense as young ferrets should need calcium for the bones to grow and if they are not getting enough calcium then the joints will not form properly. before i make the decision to put it down. i'll try a calcium rich diet for it. if you think this wont work please tell me Edited July 30, 2008 by ilovetoshoot12345 Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Look up osteodystrophy in ferrets Quote Link to post
ilovetoshoot12345 0 Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 do you think a calcium diet for the ferret is worth trying? Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 do you think a calcium diet for the ferret is worth trying? well what have you to loose Quote Link to post
ilovetoshoot12345 0 Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 ive given it milk and little chrushed egg shell the vets should have some calcium stuff Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 ive given it milk and little chrushed egg shell the vets should have some calcium stuff Obtain it naturally a bit of rabbit then small bones for them to crunch on will do the trick, watch the milk though might give them the two bob bits Quote Link to post
ilovetoshoot12345 0 Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 ive given it milk and little chrushed egg shell the vets should have some calcium stuff Obtain it naturally a bit of rabbit then small bones for them to crunch on will do the trick, watch the milk though might give them the two bob bits i dont have any rabbit at the moment but i have a few pigeons hanging in my out house will pigeon be as good? i'll have a couple of rabbit in 2 days or so though Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 ive given it milk and little chrushed egg shell the vets should have some calcium stuff Obtain it naturally a bit of rabbit then small bones for them to crunch on will do the trick, watch the milk though might give them the two bob bits i dont have any rabbit at the moment but i have a few pigeons hanging in my out house will pigeon be as good? i'll have a couple of rabbit in 2 days or so though lots feed theres pigeons Quote Link to post
lorelei0922 2 Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 i have 8 kits at the moment. there 8 weeks old. One of them seems to have a twisted upper spine by his ribs one side of the ribs feels flat the other side feels normal , this kit has never been as active as the others and never seems to walk as much as the others , but ive never noticed the twisted spine untill today well it feels like the spine but he seems as happy as usual i'll take him to the vets tomorrow, but i would imagine that as ferrets are small animals they will go down hill fast. and he's also my favorite out of the litter so please any help will be appreitated. i'll have to keep him as a pet. is this common in ferrets or am i just unlucky.? Hi, we had a kit with this problem this spring, The vet said it looked like either a calcium deficiancy or scoliosis... as our kits were supplimented with kibble mush as well as the raw rabbit from 3 weeks we think osteodystrophy unlikely and the rest of the litter were fine.. Hubby was gonna call it a day with this poor lil mite as he wasn't really getting around all that great at 8 weeks.. and we didn't want it to suffer a poor quality of life, like you, we didn't notice it until that time.. but within days he picked up a bit... ( we did add STRESS to the kibble for a couple weeks to add even more calcium) and now runs, plays, eats and poos as well as the rest! We wont rehome him as we cant tell what his future holds but he's a bonnie lil boy and will stay here happy as long as he remains healthy! He is mobile enough that he may even get a shot down the bunny hole this winter... if your lil guy isn't suffering, is eating well, and happy enough.. give him a chance! Quote Link to post
ilovetoshoot12345 0 Posted July 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 i have 8 kits at the moment. there 8 weeks old. One of them seems to have a twisted upper spine by his ribs one side of the ribs feels flat the other side feels normal , this kit has never been as active as the others and never seems to walk as much as the others , but ive never noticed the twisted spine untill today well it feels like the spine but he seems as happy as usual i'll take him to the vets tomorrow, but i would imagine that as ferrets are small animals they will go down hill fast. and he's also my favorite out of the litter so please any help will be appreitated. i'll have to keep him as a pet. is this common in ferrets or am i just unlucky.? Hi, we had a kit with this problem this spring, The vet said it looked like either a calcium deficiancy or scoliosis... as our kits were supplimented with kibble mush as well as the raw rabbit from 3 weeks we think osteodystrophy unlikely and the rest of the litter were fine.. Hubby was gonna call it a day with this poor lil mite as he wasn't really getting around all that great at 8 weeks.. and we didn't want it to suffer a poor quality of life, like you, we didn't notice it until that time.. but within days he picked up a bit... ( we did add STRESS to the kibble for a couple weeks to add even more calcium) and now runs, plays, eats and poos as well as the rest! We wont rehome him as we cant tell what his future holds but he's a bonnie lil boy and will stay here happy as long as he remains healthy! He is mobile enough that he may even get a shot down the bunny hole this winter... if your lil guy isn't suffering, is eating well, and happy enough.. give him a chance! i'm glad to hear your ferrets ok mine is still eating and drinking, the twisted spine wasn't there two days ago but he seems happy,i wont rehome him i'll keep him if he makes it Quote Link to post
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