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Really worried about Ronan. He did really well for a few days on the metronidazole, but since Sunday he's been fighting all his medications for all he's worth, we haven't seen him eating much and he's down to 880g as of last night, which is seriously underweight. His stool leads me to believe that he's developed an ulcer from the stress of taking the metronidazole. That drug can be a real catch-22, causing what it's supposed to cure. We got some wet food into him last night, but he wasn't that enthusiastic about it. He's not even that crazy about ferretone these days, since he knows something nasty is coming after. He is still drinking water. He struggles so hard against his meds, even the one he used to like, that I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself.
I have a call in to the vet, the good vet, so I wait. This is so frustrating because I don't think it's at all time to give up on him, not with a new medication around the bend, but if we can't get him past this infe
Vet called. She agreed that it sounds like ulcers from the stress of taking the metronidazole and we're going to add a stomach-coating drug (carafate) to the mix. Also we'll back down on the doses for both the metronidazole and the pediapred--he's lost so much weight that we're slightly overdosing him at the moment anyway. She's also been in touch with a vet who specializes in ferret gastrointestinal issues (Dr. Mark Burgess, same one who gave me information back when this all started) and will forward me the email he sent her with a suggested course of treatment. But there's no way we can shift medications until we get the ulcers under control.
Poor little Ronan--he really is pretty miserable right now, but if we can just get him past this he should have a good amount of quality time left to him, though from the sounds of things we may be looking at months rather than the years he ought to have ahead of him. Talking to my mom about this on Sunday, she said not to let him suffer too long, which I know she meant in a supportive way but still made me profoundly sad. It has been about literally every other year from 2000 onwards that I've had to make this kind of decision about a loved ferret and it breaks me into tiny pieces every time. If Ronan doesn't make it that long, I don't know if I will be able to get another companion for Seti. Maybe he'll just become my purse ferret and go with me everywhere so that he won't be lonely.
I have a call in to the vet, the good vet, so I wait. This is so frustrating because I don't think it's at all time to give up on him, not with a new medication around the bend, but if we can't get him past this infe
Vet called. She agreed that it sounds like ulcers from the stress of taking the metronidazole and we're going to add a stomach-coating drug (carafate) to the mix. Also we'll back down on the doses for both the metronidazole and the pediapred--he's lost so much weight that we're slightly overdosing him at the moment anyway. She's also been in touch with a vet who specializes in ferret gastrointestinal issues (Dr. Mark Burgess, same one who gave me information back when this all started) and will forward me the email he sent her with a suggested course of treatment. But there's no way we can shift medications until we get the ulcers under control.
Poor little Ronan--he really is pretty miserable right now, but if we can just get him past this he should have a good amount of quality time left to him, though from the sounds of things we may be looking at months rather than the years he ought to have ahead of him. Talking to my mom about this on Sunday, she said not to let him suffer too long, which I know she meant in a supportive way but still made me profoundly sad. It has been about literally every other year from 2000 onwards that I've had to make this kind of decision about a loved ferret and it breaks me into tiny pieces every time. If Ronan doesn't make it that long, I don't know if I will be able to get another companion for Seti. Maybe he'll just become my purse ferret and go with me everywhere so that he won't be lonely.
