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little weasel
May. 2nd, 2007 10:25 amStupid T--it took me an hour and fifteen minutes to get home from Central Square last night, it usually takes about 30 minutes, sometimes less. They kept announcing that the southbound trains were halted, but said nothing about the northbound trains. Eventually however it occurred to me that if the trains weren't moving in one direction, they really weren't likely to be moving in the other direction either and I bailed and took the bus. Along with a couple hundred other people. Meh.
I'm pretty worried about Ronan right now. His spirits are pretty good, he's playful, but he's dropped a lot of weight, coming in at barely 1000g now (good would be 1150 or so), his stool has gone liquid, ergo he is also frequently dehydrated, he's grinding his teeth a lot and he's fighting taking his medicine, which he has always been really good about. He just looks weak and off, even when he's playing. I'm guessing this is a helicobacter flareup (i.e. stomach ulcers), but the medicine thing and also the way he fights getting his teeth brushed makes me wonder if he might have mouth ulcers going on as well. He's always strongly disliked having his teeth brushed but would put up with it with minimal complaining. Lately though it's become a raging battle, and I think I will stop brushing his teeth until the vet has seen him. If the problem is just that his IBD is getting worse and not a helicobacter infection, we do have some room to increase his prednisone dosage, though I hope we won't have to do that. Another option is Imuran, but the side effects can be serious with that, including liver damage (though I think the pred can cause that too). Complicating things a little bit is the fact that he has some congestion in the aortic valve--it's not that serious at this point, but either of these medications can interfere with the rhythm of the heart. We have a vet visit scheduled for Tuesday, and I'm relieved that it's with the vet that has a lot of experience with ferrets.
I dreamed the other night that I went to find the ferrets and instead of two there were three--Pan had come back and was getting along really well with Ronan. It was nice in the dream but on waking I think my brain was trying to make me feel better by telling me that if we lose Ronan, Pan will take care of him.
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On a completely different note, I recently finished reading Julie Czerneda's Species Imperative trilogy, and I highly recommend it. It's biological/ecological sci fi, in which a salmon researcher is called upon to help decipher the meaning of the migration patterns of a species of alien that consumes all life in its path. The various sorts of aliens and their cultures are very well fleshed out, there's suspense galore, a little romance, humor and loads of originality. Satisfyingly thoughtful science fiction, and it's great to see the science of biology featured more prominently than the science of physics for once.
I'm pretty worried about Ronan right now. His spirits are pretty good, he's playful, but he's dropped a lot of weight, coming in at barely 1000g now (good would be 1150 or so), his stool has gone liquid, ergo he is also frequently dehydrated, he's grinding his teeth a lot and he's fighting taking his medicine, which he has always been really good about. He just looks weak and off, even when he's playing. I'm guessing this is a helicobacter flareup (i.e. stomach ulcers), but the medicine thing and also the way he fights getting his teeth brushed makes me wonder if he might have mouth ulcers going on as well. He's always strongly disliked having his teeth brushed but would put up with it with minimal complaining. Lately though it's become a raging battle, and I think I will stop brushing his teeth until the vet has seen him. If the problem is just that his IBD is getting worse and not a helicobacter infection, we do have some room to increase his prednisone dosage, though I hope we won't have to do that. Another option is Imuran, but the side effects can be serious with that, including liver damage (though I think the pred can cause that too). Complicating things a little bit is the fact that he has some congestion in the aortic valve--it's not that serious at this point, but either of these medications can interfere with the rhythm of the heart. We have a vet visit scheduled for Tuesday, and I'm relieved that it's with the vet that has a lot of experience with ferrets.
I dreamed the other night that I went to find the ferrets and instead of two there were three--Pan had come back and was getting along really well with Ronan. It was nice in the dream but on waking I think my brain was trying to make me feel better by telling me that if we lose Ronan, Pan will take care of him.
---
On a completely different note, I recently finished reading Julie Czerneda's Species Imperative trilogy, and I highly recommend it. It's biological/ecological sci fi, in which a salmon researcher is called upon to help decipher the meaning of the migration patterns of a species of alien that consumes all life in its path. The various sorts of aliens and their cultures are very well fleshed out, there's suspense galore, a little romance, humor and loads of originality. Satisfyingly thoughtful science fiction, and it's great to see the science of biology featured more prominently than the science of physics for once.
