Pixie's trip to the vet

Well, so Miss Pix had her appointment today at 5.30. I took Yogs with us and left Sian with Hiko, because I long ago learned that where Pixie goes, Yogi must follow :D

We got there in record time (long drive but not hectic, \o/). And because we thought it'd be longer or harder to find, we - of course - left way early, so we had a long wait. We finally get seen, and let's just say that everyone loved Yogi, the ham. The vet thought he was just the handsomest "dark sable," while Pixie was just "the same old boring pattern." I kind of GRRRRRRRRRRR-faced at him at that. Also, on one memorable occasion, the vet tech, who was examining her and palpitating various soft spots on her body, stands Pix up on her hind legs, so that she's braced against the tech's chest. Next thing I know, the tech says, "oh yeah, you got some boobies on you."

AHAHAHAHAHAHA, WHAT.

But anyway, the tech does her stuff (takes my comments and Pix's weight) and then the vet comes in.

Our first convo:

The vet: "Pixie's a big ferret."

Me, since both ferts were still out: "Oh no, that's YOGI."

Vet: "No, generally females I see are 800 g, get one over 1000 g, that's a big ferret." (Pixie was 1050 g).

Me, thinking: No, that's kinda small for her - she averages 2.5 lbs, with a lot of muscle, especially in her shoulders. Pix was a bit under that (2.3 lbs).

Our next convo:

Vet: "So what's wrong with her?"

Me, o_O : "What?"

Vet: "What's wrong with her? I assume you're on some ferret forum."

Me, >:C : "I was thinking she's possibly adrenal?"

So, yeah, there were some spots throughout where I wasn't sure I liked the vet. However, he DID know ferrets, so I just brushed it off.

Overall, the vet wasn't positive Miss Pix is adrenal. He said that while she has some hair loss, yes, that occurs at her tail tip and thinned hair at the base of her tail, that she doesn't show any other pattern of hair loss, nor any other symptoms of adrenal or the other big cancers. Basically, she's a healthy, healthy girl or we caught the signs really, really early.

However, he was comfortable with giving her a Lupron shot just in case. He said that since her hair loss is so subtle that it might be hard to see any new growth, if there is any, from the shot. I just looked at him, and said, "you don't know me. I keep an eagle eye out on her. I'll notice any change." He said we could schedule an ultrasound to check her glands (this would also let him see any ovarian remnants, if there were any), and possibly a blood panel. That way, we'd know for absolute certainty what is, or is not, going on (and I can finally relax ;D). So we'll do that for sometime after the 8th :)

As for Pixie, she was amazing like always. She put up with everything, and you can tell she's calming down as she gets older - she was content to stay by me, stretching out in front of me, so she could turn her head and rub against my shirt and play in the towel they gave her without leaving my vicinity. Pixie's bright, though. She know they were having some fun at her expense (both verbally and kind of playfully manhandling her). She kept looking at me like, "WHAT are they doing?" Pixie isn't used to that kind of behavior in people. Around here, we're slightly more reverent, because come on. She's PIXIE.

I'm satisfied with what we're doing, and our experiences today. WE HAVE A VET (also cheaply priced - Pixie's lupron was only $36. When I went, "ZOMG," the vet looked at me and said, "yeahhhh, we're not as expensive as the 'big' exotics vets."

AHAHAHAHAHHA. NO. NO THEY ARE NOT.)