Ferret Room Remodel

Sometimes you just have to do what you just have to do. Last Friday, the first day of my 3 day weekend for the holiday I got it in my head that the ferret room needed a remodel. My husband was out of town, so I didn't have to worry about how the mess I was about to make of our house would impact him. At least as long as the mess was gone by the time he returned.

Now I had been thinking about re-doing the floor, yet really hadn't given it much thought. Somehow in very short amount of time, my brain said not only did the floor need to be done, the baseboards needed to be replaced and a fresh coat of paint would be good. Really if I had more time I would have also replaced the trim around the doors, but you can only do so much in 2 1/2 days. My husband knew nothing of my last minute decision to make this happen, although we had talked about the flooring in the past.

I couldn't remodel the room with the ferrets in it, so I sent them to camp out in the basement. There is a whole play area complete with cage set up down there. It is what I used when I fostered, Piper, JD, Xander and Bandit last year after the flood. It is also our storm shelter for the wild summer storms that sometimes roll through the midwest. The ferrets didn't mind this so much, as it is always nice and cool in the basement as well as it was a great big adventure for them.

Once the ferrets were safely relocated to the basement, the work began. Moving everything out of the room, pulling the baseboards and trim around the doors. Painting, new flooring, new baseboards and re-installing the same trim back around the doors. Once all that was done, it was Sunday evening I was very tired and then had to put everything back in the room. Oh yeah and clean the mess, I don't think my husband would have been happy to come home and find the old trim still laying in the living room!

I waited one extra day to bring the ferrets 'back home' just to make sure that the room was aired out well after painting for their safety. All in all, it was hard work, I enjoyed the project, it was much easier than I thought to do some of these things...AND when my husband finally saw it he said it looked fantastic that I did a wonderful job. Ego boost!

I posted my progress all throughout the weekend on Facebook, and got many requests for pictures, so I am posting them here for all to see what the room looked like before, during and after the work.

Update on the June 1st vet appointment.

Sheesh, can we ever have a just a routine appointment?   I'm willing to bet our new vet, is wondering what she got herself into when she took on my fuzzy family.

Ben, we treated him with benadryl and then let him hang out in the carrier while Dr. G  took a look a Bobo's lump.  She took a sample with a needle and then had a peek under the microscope.  Both of us felt it was probably a cyst.   When she came back, she said it is not a cyst the cells were large and fuzzy looking.  She stated that she had no idea what kind of tumor it was, and recommended removing it.  Sigh...

She then took a quick look at Cracker Jack's incision site to see how nicely he is healing!  We discussed briefly how he did have some hair growing back on his belly, yet his tail is still naked.

It was then time for Ben's distemper shot.  He is such a good boy about getting his shots, doesn't even flinch.  Then our wait began.  After about 10 minutes he was doing good, and rowdy in his carrier.  Dr. G moved on to see another patient while we hung out in the exam room.  After about 10 more minutes, it started.

At first it was just a little cough, then progressed to much nastier things.  I will spare everyone the gory details of the reaction itself.   I notified the staff immediately and Ben was given epinephrine and a steroid to help combat the reaction.

Then my boy went limp, much like a wet noodle if you could imagine a 3.5 pound noodle.  He lay in my arms with no will to wiggle or do anything.  His heart rate, breathing and color were good though.   He did also receive sub-Q fluids to make sure he stayed hydrated.

2 hours after our appointment we finally felt Ben was doing well enough to leave and we have put Ben on the list of ferrets to not vaccinate in the future.  Dr. G feels it is just too hard on his little body to go through that.  

Poor Bobo and Cracker Jack waited in their carrier so patiently, they probably wonder what they did to end up in the carrier for such a long time.

Vet day for Bobo and Ben

Today Bobo and BenBen visit Dr G's office.

Ben is going in for his routine distemper vaccination.  We'll pretreat him with benadryl since he has a history of reacting to his vaccinations and hopefully this will help him through the experience with ease and we don't have a repeat of what his sister Bobo went through.

Bobo is going along to have a bump looked at.  We are not worried by what we see, just want to have it checked out.  She has developed a pea sized bump on her right side in the area just in front of her back leg.  This bump is under the skin, and does not appear to be irritated or cause her any discomfort.

Wish the kids well....

The Many Sleeps of Mojo

Any ferret owner knows that ferret sometimes sleep in the strangest positions.  It as if no position or spot is uncomfortable to them.   Mojo is no exception to this ferret phenomenon.

While none of this week's poses seem all that uncomfortable we did want to share just a few of the sleeping spots and positions we found him in during a 24 hour period this past week.

In the first picture Mojo is sleeping half in and half out of the sleep box.  Inside the box are soft blankies to nestle in to, and the box provides a dark retreat for sleepy ferrets during daylight hours.

In this second picture Mojo is a part of the ferret pile on the shelf beneath their cage.  On a soft blanket wedged between a box of toys and a ferret sized couch.  

In the 3rd and final picture of the day Mojo once again participates in a ferret pile.  He is flopped on his back and twisted around as he lays on top of Cracker Jack and Ozzy.  Doesn't he look happy?

Five days post surgery, 5.27.2009

Things are going well for Cracker Jack!  He is still holding a steady weight, and is more active each day.  While he is not back to is normal bouncy ferret antics, one can tell he feels better.  He has been a little stinker when it comes to eating his kibble.  Cracker Jack has made it very clear that he would prefer to still receive regular meals of soup.  Every now and then you'll catch him crunching on a kibble secretively, as if he thinks you won't notice.  He is one smart cookie and understands, if I don't think he is eating I'll give him the soup that he covets.

Each night when I am home from work, I let Cracker Jack have some time in the ferret room.  This way he gets some interaction with the others, it also allows him to have a bit more room to explore and move around.

Last night after several minutes I realized I didn't see him roaming around, so I went in search of the little guy.  This is what I found, he was all snuggled up with some of his brothers.   He is using Ozzy as a body pillow, while Moki and BenBen are close by.  It made me feel good to know that even though he is not 100% he was still eager to be a part of the ferret pile.

Cracker Jack, I promise in just a few more days you can move back in to the ferret room!

5.25.2009 Update on Cracker Jack

Our little buddy continues to do well, today he drank water on his own for the first time since his surgery.  Yippee!   He also got to spend some supervised time exploring the ferret room, no rough housing or climbing in to the cage.  Cracker Jack weighed in at 980 grams yesterday, so he has even put on  some weight.  Although this may be due to doing nothing but eating and sleeping for the last several days.

Resting comfortably

His healing incision.

Day Two post surgery...

Cracker Jack continues to do well, we can tell he is sore but who wouldn't be after what he's been through?

He is eating well, and uses the litter box regularly without issue.  Actually for his comfort and safety we are using a potty pad in the play pen with him.  Occasionally he thinks it is fun to rumple up the pad, typical ferret even when he isn't feeling good.

He has started handing out Cracker Jack kisses again which makes me happy, even if Daddy did get them first!

His belly looks pretty good, although some bruising can be seen.  He has gained a little weight, since we brought him home yesterday.

Here is a picture of him, resting all stretched out on top of his bedding.

Surgery for Cracker Jack

Cracker Jack had his surgery this morning.  I dropped him off at the vets at 7 am.   Dr. Garman called me at around 10:30 to say that he was resting post surgery.  It was then that I found out there was bi-lateral involvement, both of his adrenal glands were enlarged.  Sigh....

The left gland was removed completely and part of the right was removed as well.  We plan on putting him on lupron to help with the situation.

I brought him home this evening.  He has a recovery pen set up in our living room so he can rest peacefully away from the others.  This also limits his mobility, while he heals.

I offered him food, and he willingly ate his soupie!  We continue to offer supportive care and making sure he has soupie and water every two hours.

Tonight I will be sleeping in the living room on the couch next to Cracker Jack.   At first my Husband didn't like this idea, until I asked him if he really wanted to hear an alarm go off every two hours.   I will need an alarm to make sure I wake up and check on Cracker Jack regularly.

Bath Dance

A week ago, while cleaning the ferret room it dawned on me the ferrets had not had their spring baths. It is not necessary to bathe ferrets often, in fact if you over bathe them it strips the oils from their fur which is not good. I  bathe my ferrets twice a year, during the spring and fall sheds to help remove the loose hair.

For some reason I had not done this yet, so I decided no time like the present to get this done. I felt that it was the perfect day, not too cold plus Grammy would be ferret sitting the following day so we could call her and tell her they took their baths just for her!

I started with trimming their nails, I typically do this once every 1-2 weeks.  They don't seem to mind this too much and it helps keep their nails from splitting and getting caught on things.

When the nail trimming was done, we did full body massages. For the ferrets I imagine the experience is similar to that which we humans experience, they feel pretty darned good. From my perspective it gives me the opportunity to feel for any lumps or bumps and check the over all condition of their coats and bodies.

Then it was treat time! I gave them all some vaseline. Yep you read that right, I said vaseline. They think it's a treat and gobble it down, what are really doing is lubing the tubing to help make sure hairballs don't get stuck where they shouldn't be.  

Then one by one we visited the bathtub for a bath.  Since I am the only human involved in the bathing process, I can not take pictures as I don't want my camera anywhere near a wet ferret in the bathroom!

We towel dry, and then set them loose!  Mojo will demonstrate for you, how he finishes his drying process.  Enjoy....

Cracker Jack - My Buddy

Cracker Jack has long been called my Buddy Boo, he is such a happy little ferret and joy to have in the family.   Cracker Jack joined the family in 2006, and he is just about 3.5 years old.  He loves to dance and cuddle in his Mom's arms.

For a few months now I have suspected Cracker Jack of being adrenal.  For those who may not have a lot of ferret knowledge this means I suspect he has  Adrenal Gland Disease.    He has started to show a few of the clinical signs, the most obvious being some patterned hairloss, inlcuding his tail, tummy, chest and shoulder blades.

We have consulted our vet, and even waited awhile just to make sure we weren't dealing with a seasonal shed.  My buddy's hair just isn't growing back.   His tail is practically bald these days.

March 2009

May 2009

Additionally he is showing some uncharacteristic agressive behavior with the others.   After additional discussion with his veterinarian we have decided to move forward with an adrenalectomy (surgical removal of the affected adrenal gland).  

Cracker Jack is scheduled for his surgery May 22, 2009.  We ask that you keep him in your thoughts and wish for an uneventful surgery along with a speedy recovery.  

Ricebox?

Ever wonder why this blog is titled "Tales from the Ricebox"? If you are a ferret enthusiast, your answer is probably no. For those who are new to the world of ferrets or just curious....

It would be an understatement to say that ferrets like to dig and burrow.  They will dig just about anything if given a chance.  To enrich their lives and allow them to do something they naturally enjoy doing, many ferret owners provide dig boxes.   A common filler is rice,  ferrets will lose their minds digging in  rice.  Very entertaining for the humans too!   It is important to note that it should be long grain rice, NOT instant rice for the ferrets safety.  

I decided rice would be a good idea, as it was much easier to clean up after.  I tried shredded paper once.....it wasn't such a good idea!   Sure they fling the rice out of the box from time to time as they dig.    My favorite is tunneling into the rice and then bursting out in a blast of happiness.   The rice really flies then!

We've always kept our posts to be about the ferrets on the blog, so we wanted the title to relate to the ferrets somehow.  The Ricebox seemed to suit us.

The photos feature BenBen playing in the rice, not really digging just playing.

Tornado Warning

Last weekend we had our first tornado warning of the season.  My husband and I gathered the ferrets into their carriers and took them to the basement.

Mind you they could care less about the sirens going off, and were oblivious to the potential danger they were in.  They were however very excited to be going somewhere.

Imagine their surprise when the arrived in the basement, and placed into a cage.  They were not happy and were pretty rowdy for awhile.  They did eventually settle down.

Here is a picture of them waiting on Mom to decide it was safe to take them back to the ferret room upstairs!

Photo's from the ferret room!

A few recent photos of the family for your enjoyment...

Ozzy celebrating his 3rd birthday playing in the tubes!

Mojo, checking out the world upside down..thinkin' he's pretty darn cute!

Cracker Jack posing handsome for the camera!

Moki demonstrating how to REALLY relax!

Ben Ben "Tastes Like Chicken Poofer" sneaking up on someone....

Bobo, playing with her new favorite toy she got for Easter.

Luna says "This is the face you get when you take pictures of my while I'm sleeping"

No wonder they never have any toys to play with...who put them all under the cage?

State of the Ferrets

Today was Spa day in the ferret room!  Everyone had pedicures, their ears cleaned, their teeth brushed, we brushed coats to pull out loose hair from the spring shed.  We also put everyone on the scales to see how much they weighed.  Paying attention to weight fluctuations in ferrets helps a ferret parent know when something might be amiss.

For the curious of mind here is what the scales said:

BenBen 1360 grams

Ozzy 1350 grams

Mojo 1189 grams

Moki 1081 grams

CJ 989   grams

Bobo 796   grams

Luna 795   grams

Nothing out of whack there, it is important to note that Bobo officially has junk in her trunk.  We are so happy she is back at weight.  In March when she had GI issues she very quickly dropped down to a low of 622 grams.  She has gained and maintained her weight.  Yeah!

As for the overall state of affairs with the family, well it could be worse however we have somethings to keep our eye on.

Cracker Jack- has lost the hair on his tail with his seasonal shed and it has not grown back.  We suspect Adrenal Disease in him and will give him a few more weeks to see if any hair grows back.   We are waiting in part because there is nothing that puts him in immediate danger and I will be traveling for work the first week of May.  Daddy and Grammy would not be pleased if I left them with a convalescing ferret to take care of.  

Mojo- Appears to be happy and healthy.  He has a full soft furry coat that makes him look much bigger than he really is.  I suspect he will be shedding this soon.  Mojo had his rabies vaccination and annual exam last week.  The vet felt a lumpy mass in his abdomen, so we will need to investigate this.  Mojo will have an ultrasound in the next few weeks, since he is otherwise healthy and does not act like he doesn't feel well we are going to wait until he goes back in for his distemper vaccination unless the situation changes.

Moki-What can I say about our kamikaze ferret?  Crazy as can be and appears to be happy and healthy.  He seems to be doing well with his IBD as longs as we provide him with some daily soupie to supplement his regular food.  He is a happy boy, and we humans could learn a thing or two from him in his enjoyment of life!

Bobo- The Princess is doing quite well now, as mentioned earlier she went through a bought of GI issues at the beginning of March.  The road back to health has been long, and filled with yucky medicines.  We are now done with the medicines and she is back to her royal self again.  She is in the middle of her shed, and looks so darn cute with her short coat.

Luna- She's doing well, and there is nothing of note to mention about her health wise.  She is our little "pipster", and enjoys playing with her family daily.  One of her favorite activities is climbing on Mommy, sometimes if she is fast enough she can even make it to the computer desk from Mom's shoulder.

BenBen- Poofer Dude, seems to be happy and healthy as well.  He is typically the 'last man' standing in the ferret room and relies upon us to play with him long after the others have settled down for a nap.  As with Luna there is nothing of concern with his health.  We'll be scheduling him for his distemper vaccination soon.  We do not look forward to this, as he has a history of reaction.

Ozzy- Just after Thanksgiving Ozzy experienced a urinary obstruction.  Ultrasounds showed that his prostate and left adrenal were enlarged.   He did have an adrenalectomy, poor fella.  His internal sutures came undone and a week later he had a second surgery to replace those sutures.  He has been doing well, we will need to look at a follow up ultra sound to ensure the prostrate shrank after the diseased adrenal gland was removed.  The Oz Man has been a little sleepier these last couple of days, so we are keeping a close eye on him.

So there you have it, lots of things going on for this family of ferrets.  I think I need a second job!

Our first visit to the new vet...

Ben was the first one to have a need to see our new vet.  He was due for his annual rabies vaccination so we made an appointment.

When it was our turn to be seen by the vet, she weighed him.  What a chunker 2 lbs 15 oz!  She looked at his teeth, eyes and ears all looked good.  As the exam continued she listened to his heart and mentioned that he had a slight murmur.    Since we are new to her, she asked if anyone had talked to me about this.  I explained that Ben was a rescue and aside from an initial health check when I brought him home this was his first appointment.

She explained to me how cardiomyopathy is commen in ferrets, she rated his murmur a 1 on a scale of 1-6 with 1 being the least concerning.   She asked about his activity levels, and if he ever did the flat ferret in the middle of playing.  I giggled at this, because when Ben plays he is always the last man standing!  Still something to keep an eye on. 

She also mentioned that his spleen is prominent, but again this is common in ferrets.  All in all he seemed healthy.  So it was time for his vaccination.  He was such a good boy, didn't even wiggle when he got his shot.  We thanked the vet and went out in to the waiting room.

We decided to pay first even though we wouldn't be leaving yet.   Ferrets can sometimes have reactions to their vaccinations, so it is always a good idea to stay at the vets for at least 30 minutes in the event that a reaction happens.  This way you are on site and not needing to rush back for help.  Since I wasn't expecting a reaction to a rabies shot we paid and took a seat.

Ben was chillin' in my lap watching the happenings of the vets office when he got very wiggly.  So I put him in his carrier and then all heck broke loose.  No sooner than I got him in the carrier, he began to vommit.  I knew all to well that this was the beginnings of a reaction.  I let the vet tech know what was going on and we were rushed back in to an exam room where we were met by the vet.

Ben was given an antihistamine and a steriod injection to counter the reaction, she checked his gums and heart rate all seemed okay.  She had us just hang out in the exam room while the medicines took effect.   She poked her head in from time to time to see how we were doing.

My poor baby, just layed there in my arms all limp.  If I set him down he would move around a bit.  His eyes were open, but just staring off in to space although he was breathing fine.    As the reaction continued he experienced a bloody and very liquified bowel movement.   I notified the vet of this turn of events, and she gave him an epinephrin injection.  We waited and watched some more.

He eventually turned the corner, I knew he was feeling better when he started nesting in the carrier moving the blankets around to his liking.  Before leaving Ben also received sub-q's to ensure that he was hydrated after his ordeal.

A day later my boy seems no worse for the wear and is acting as if nothing happened.

What a first impression he made on his new doctor!

Socks

What exactly are they good for?  

Ask any human and you will get answers that explain their intended purpose.  Keep your feet warm!  You might even hear they can be used as mittens or hand puppets.

Watch a ferret on the other hand and you will learn there are many uses for socks....

1. Napkins.  After your evening soupy just find a sock and wipe your face on it.  Ta-da clean dry face!
2. Toy totes, stuff your favorite toy inside and drag it all around with you.
3. A pile of clean socks make the best dance floor ever.  You can dance to your hearts content on a soft fluffly pile of socks!  Way better than any ole' laundry pile.
   
4. A means of escape from the ferret room!  If you grab on to the end of a socked foot just as it is beginning to step over the gate you can hitch a ride to the other side. 
   
5. Ramp covers, they make a nice soft covering for cage ramps to protect ferret toes.
6. A means of communication.  When your human is busy tweeting, thus ignoring you.  Just start to pull their sock down, guaranteed to get their attention!

This my friends is just a start to the many uses for socks....

The Mystery of Hair

Ever wonder why hair grows the way it does?  Until recently I hadn't given much thought to it.   A few weeks back Ozzy had surgery to remove his left adrenal gland.  I feel it important to share that prior to the surgery he had no pattern hairloss that is sometimes common with adrenal disease in ferrets.

For the surgery as expected the Vet shaved Ozzy's tummy.  Hair is now starting to grow back, but not as I expected.  Big O has random clumps of hair growing very well and then areas where no regrowth has taken place at all.  Huh?

I regularly check to see how his tummy looks, and well it just looks weird with how the hair is growing back.   I have tried to take a picture in order to show the world just how funny this looks.

I will say, wiggly white ferrets and tummy pictures showing hair regrowth is not a good combination.  I've yet to get a picture that has enough detail to be seen.  So for now you will have to use your imagination!