pointless, maybe, but definitely entertaining.

Yesterday, it was Hiko's turn to be off.  I guess they like to keep me on my feet, or something (PROTIP, babies,  YOU DON'T NEED TO DO THAT.  I'LL LOVE YOU ANYWAY).  But, he was splayed out on the ground, and honestly for a moment I thought he was dead. 

Luckily, nope, not the case.  His ataxia is getting worse, though, and from playing and fighting over food, they had messed the sheet up, so it was bunched and there was a lot of flexi tile showing.  Now, the flexi tile isn't what I'd call slippery, but for a fella who sometimes can't even stand without going arse over head, it's probably very tricky.

So I got him up, fed him some baby food (and while he was eating, there he went, rear end trying to climb right over his head) and helped support him while he ate, and then got him on the carpeted hallway so I could clean the room and straighten out the sheet again.

The thing with Hiko is, I've had him tested for every disease I could think of, and insulinoma was one that was tested for REPEATEDLY, because ever since I've gotten him (waaaaaaaay back in 2010, hahaha) he's had these wonky episodes, where his motor control just goes phhhhhhhhbt.  So far, he doesn't show anything but adrenal disease, and that at a very early stage.  So, I'm thinking that maybe this is purely neurological, or the result of physical trauma (I know he was initially rescued by a NC chinchilla rescue, housed with other ferrets that did not like him; was adopted by a couple where: he escaped the bathroom where he was housed and got into house venting; he was attacked by a dog, and "given" to a two year old as a pet, and the two year old, of course, did not handle him properly, which was the reason he was being rehomed when I got him) that's just amping up now that he's getting older.

As it's gotten worse, I've had the inevitable thoughts.  Thoughts about helping him cross the bridge, because I am stumped.  I've done the testing, and now I can't afford to continue it, if there's something there (cancer, etc) to find (and with ferrets that's a hard thing, getting a concrete diagnosis, believe you me).  So, yes, I've thought about it, and I realized that if he lives most of his days with a dull, distant look to him that the kindest thing will be to schedule that final appointment, and I will.  I was almost convinced last night, but (as they so far do) the moment passed, and he was busy tootling around (not at all gracefully, but happily) before he curled up to sleep.  That gave me enough incentive to stop crying, suck it up, and realize he DOESN'T want to go, yet.

So, I do what I can: feed him every couple of hours (in case it IS insulinoma and we can't see the tumors OR register it on the glucose meter), make damn sure he has textured flooring, keep his nails trimmed religiously, and keep an eye out for episodes.  Next time, when it happens, I think I will actually vid it, so I have physical proof of it, AND I won't have to rely on my memory to describe the incident, either.

So, that's Hiko news.

In OTHER news, Yogi attacked Hiko yesterday.  Yep, yesterday, when he was all wobbly.  I should have realized that feeding Hiko baby food in their room, while Yogi and Sian are out in the hallway, is not a good idea.  Yogi loves baby food as much as Hiko.  He would not leave Hiko alone (especially as Hiko, because of the aforementioned wobbliness, had stepped in the food as well):

 

 

 

See that?  When Yogi starts following Hiko around like that, and smelling his neck?  Not Good things are about to happen.  It's not really about maliciousness, more about Yogi getting frustrated and taking it out on the lowest on the totem pole.  I kept calling him off, but I turned around for a second to reach for something, and next thing you know Yogi was roughing Hiko up.  Got them separated, got Hiko calmed down, and took him with me to get more baby food so they could share a jar.  It worked, and then after that Yogi calmed down and they were friends again.  It wasn't like I wasn't going to give Yogi some, I was just going to wait until the room was done and they were back up to give it.  Apparently, that is not good enough. 

 

Lesson learned.

 

Also, in utterly adorable news, I gots me some lap time with all three.  Not as a group, but Hiko got in my lap and laid down for a bit (which is not unusual, he does love doing that).  Then he left to curl up in some empty trash bags they had scattered around the floor (don't knock it 'til you try it, apparently).  Then Yogi actually crawls into my lap, and curls up after some cute face cleaning.  I mean, seriously, they look like little beavers or something when they drag their paws down their face and all.  IT IS TOO CUTE, MY HEART CAN'T TAKE THAT KIND OF ABUSE. 

 

So, he's curled up, and I'm just about dying, because it's been a long time since he's done that.  

Meanwhile, Sian is running around like >:| >:| >:| because she can't believe she's not in my lap, even though she didn't want to be in my lap.  I think she believes she should have free access to cuddling, therefore NO ONE ELSE should take "her" space, just in the off chance she wants it.  As a result, she starts digging at my back and nipping me.  All that tantruming stuff she still has not grown out of.  Eventually, she curls up on top of Yogi (who slings his front leg over her, OMG BAYBEES, HOW SO ADORBS?) and naps, too.

Ugh, cuddle time FTW!  \o/  I've definitely missed it.  All three of them actually even cuddled together (before the laptime) braced against my leg.  That's right - Yogi, Sian and Hiko actually group snuggled.  WHAT.

In food news, they had mice the night before last:

Hiko heartily approved :)  Today, they had eggs and crushed eggshell (that pic is actually the header now, obvs), and will finish the night with pork heart.  YUMMERS :)



(you know, if there are people actually reading this, I am impressed.  This blog is not known for its coherence, or, you know, its relevance to anybody but me.  What it is known for is random badly taken pictures, CAPS, commas, parentheses, and poorly described stories.  So, yeah.  Here are my apologies.  Your eyes will stop bleeding in 6-12 hours after reading, ahahahaha. :/ )

there it was, hiding just around the corner

Sian got really sick a few days ago.  I went down to play and clean ferret rooms, and I always start with the big guys' room.  So I get them out, and they're exploring and playing just like usual.  No problem whatsoever.

I finish up, get the big guys in their room, and go get food (hairless mice and pork heart, plus supplemental baby food for Hiko).  Everybody is chowing down and loving the heart and whole prey (which they had not been able to have for awhile).  I go to clean up the girls' room, and get Rula fed and put up so Anya could come out.

That all done, I'm about to shut lights off and go upstairs, when I hear this long whimpering sound.  I pause, wait, and then I hear hacking, then the sound of vomiting coming from the big guys' room.

I get there, peek over the plexi glass and see Sian under the cage, alternating between splayed out and pacing and heaving.  She's trying to bury herself under piddle pads, twisting and turning - doing everything that lets me know something is hurting her.

I get in, try to persuade her to come out, and at first she won't.  So I keep talking, softly and calmly, all the while thinking she swallowed some part of the mouse she had been eating wrong, and it's either stuck in her mouth, throat or worse somewhere along the route to her stomach or IN her stomach.

Finally I get her to come out, but she's restless, trying to heave, breathing hard.  She then goes to the piddle pads, goes to the bathroom, and when she's done, I look - orange, watery stool.  Basically orange, mucus filled water, is a more apt description.

WTF.

I get ahold of her, and she's shaking.  My heart is just sinking to my toes at  this point, but I get her scruffed, pry her mouth open.  Clear.  I then stick a finger into her mouth, feeling as far back down her throat as possible.  Clear.  [and this is why I love my guys.  She just let me do this.  Not a bite, not a wiggle, not a scratch.  All while feeling horribly ill].

I massage her throat, her stomach.  Throat doesn't elicit a reaction.  But I get to her stomach?  It's tight and feels distended.    I start thinking oh my god, blockage, and when the food hit, she went downhill.  I let her down, and she just kind of lays there, shaking and spacing out.  Whatever is going on, I'm seeing my little girl actually in the beginning stages of shock. 

I go upstairs, get pumpkin into a large needle-less syringe and head back downstairs.  I scruff her and give her just a little bit.  Then, I hear this loud noise.  It's coming from her stomach.

Sounds like a lot of trapped gas.  So, then I start thinking, major GI upset.  I pick her up from where she's laying, hold her and just tell her "you're alright, you're alright," and every time I do, she presses her forehead against my cheek, and lays there shivering.

So my night went like that.  Every time she got up and used the bathroom, she'd get a little pumpkin and I'd hold her, or lay her in their plush bed on the floor and keep her covered.  By 5 am, she was feeling well enough to give me a kiss or two and even climb into the first floor of the cage.  By this time, too, her poos had changed from that watery mess to very small and loosely formed ones.  I gave her one more dose of pumpkin, and then let her settle in the cage with Hiko and Yogi for a few hours while I caught some sleep.

Got up around nine, and although she was still a little "quiet," she actually jumped out of the cage when she heard me coming and was waiting at the door.  She was stretching and moving, everything she couldn't do a few hours earlier (in fact, when she was bad, she'd shove her legs under her, get her torso into a scrunched loaf, and stick her hind end up in the air.  It was so sad.). 

I pick her up as I come into the room and she's smelling me and giving kisses.  When I lay down, I have her in the crook of my arm, and whenever I'm close enough she kisses and snuggles, and then splays out, upside down.  She was a pretty happy girl, then, and you could feel the relief pouring off of her.

Poos are still a bit small, but each day they get more normal.  A vet, back when Yogi had been sick with diarrhea, did tell me that it could take a few days to regain volume in the stool, and Sian seems to be keeping that notion alive.

She's eating well, too.  The night following the incident, I gave them goat meat and chicken necks.  She settled down right away and started eating.  She didn't eat a lot, but she did eat.  Last night, they had beef heart and chicken necks, and this time she ate a more normal meal.

About ten years have been shaved off my life with this stunt.  And it coming from Sian is a surprise, since in the almost 5 years I've had her, I've never had her have a sickness.  Not once.  Reaction to distemper?  Check.   Trauma to her nerves due to a misplaced shot of Benadryl given by a vet tech (to reduce another reaction)?  Check.  Just no sicknesses.

Well, it seems we've broken our streak.  Oh, well.  I'm just overjoyed my little girl is okay again <3 p="">

 

quick post

Had to take my nieces to see the ferrets (and help clean cages!) because they hadn't been able to for the past two nights.  Had my 5 year old niece actually YELL at me about it today, so yep.

My middle niece I caught hitting Anya during playtime, so she got a very stern talking to, and we had to go over the correct and incorrect ways of playing.  She hates getting into trouble (and I think she just got caught up in the moment), so here's hoping we don't have a repeat :D  Anya was very good about it, though, luckily.  &heart;

I also ordered mice and rat pups from American Rodent!  YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY. Still getting closer and closer to employment - actually sent in an application for PetCo, both full and part time positions.  HIRE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

And that's about it.  Not too shabby lately.

PICSPAM: mayhem? why no, it's just a regular friday night

My nieces have been staying with us for the summer.  Every time we start cleaning they always say, "oh, we want to help"  so we generally give them little chores.  Well, yesterday, I started babbling about having to clean ferret rooms that evening, so of course, they all chorused "we want to helllllllpppppppppppppp."  Since I usually do it after they go to bed, I had to get on the ball and do it earlier if they were going to be my "helpers" (the decision to let them help on the this one, was aided and abetted by three sad little faces that moped at me when I casually explained how late I actually clean rooms, hahaha.  Guilt, I has it).

This was, keep in mind, the first time that the ferrets had ever really interacted with the girls for long periods of time.  Yogi and Sian (along with Pixie, before she passed) were introduced off and on to the girls (glancing pets and "hi's!"  Anya only really saw them once, when I first got her, and Rula was the same, really, except for when I carried her upstairs and the girls got to say hello for a few seconds). 

I explained how they move, play, and interact.  That animals have paws, and claws, and teeth.  Nips can happen, scratches can happen, and if you step, squash or kick at Hiko it could make him die, and painfully (my words, because less than the graphic best will get about ZERO responses from them, and he has a really enlarged spleen.  I was taking no chances).  All that done, I brought out the big guys (feeding Hiko, so he wasn't nippy from hunger):

My precious ferrets were on their best behavior, which was awesome, seeing as how I love love love my nieces, but for children raised around a CRAP TON of animals since birth, they can be so very weird around them (though yesterday night was great, tonight they were showing a little of that oddness I've come to know so well).

They got to handle and watch the ferrets roam and play, and then we got down to the business that brought us there.  Cleaning cages:

 

 

And then me, breezing on through while I have my nieces do all the dirty work for me (in all my messy, messy glory.  I have just decided not to g.a.f., hahahaha):

We got the big guys' room done.  And on to Rula and Anya.  Followed the same vein, meet ferrets, play, clean, and then CHILL:

 God, I am just the most gorgeous creature alive.  How does the internet not implode with all this hotness floating around?  I don't even.  But to actually clarify, I'm holding the ramp up, so Reese can vacuum behind it.  She was apparently weirded out by actually moving the hose around.  My precious girl.  Yep.

 

 

And then Rula was taken care of, and she had to go up with her food (her and the big guys got duck necks and gizzards last night and boneless chicken thighs tonight, fyi), and Anya had to come out and get to meet my nieces, and get taken care of:

And then we got her refilled on food, and no, I didn't even do THAT, miss Hailey did:

After, it was time to sit a spell:

The verdict after two days of helping their Iya take care of her ferrets?  Hailey loves to clean, Emma is apparently our very own future ferret whisperer, and wants to have ferrets of her own some day (smush Hailey and Emma together and you get one darn good ferrent, I must say):

... and Reese likes to take pictures (almost all the pics here are hers :D ).

As for me, well.  The rooms got done, though tonight took about .... four hours longer than normal, but hey, it's all good, if they get to know and appreciate my guys, as well as the value of taking care of another living being that depends on you.  Life lessons, and all that, amirite?

Why?

Don't I look happy as a clam?

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

(j/k, they were long, but they were good nights ;D )

oh, capricious winds

So.  I totally fail at taking pictures.  Let's just start off with that.

But words are nice.  You can have some.

Got done taking care of ferts and letting them roam.  Since they've been having chicken necks a lot, I decided to change it up, and saved back some tilapia (we were having it for dinner).  Generally, my guys LOVE tilapia (and is really the only fish I feed them.  I've tried sardines, salmon and flounder.  All made for stinky, stinky ferrets.  ESPECIALLY the flounder), and they don't get it a lot, so it's always a treat.

Well, usually always.  Usually always, except for tonight, apparently.  Did I miss the memo saying this was off the menu?  Apparently, little miss Sian was completely miffed about having this in her bowl.  While Yogi and Hiko ate their baby food, Sian was flat out glaring at me, while I just ":/" back at her.

Of course, I couldn't even find my bottle of olive oil to entice her until I moved over to Rula and Anya's room to clean.  I must have knocked it off the pony wall some time between last night and tonight.  So, I get Rula up with her tilapia (and like the good little girl she is, starts chowing down immediately), and peek in on the big three.  I first notice Sian curled up in a cuddly up, head resting on the edge of it, on the second floor of their FN, just staring morosely at me.  I look down at the floor, Hiko is having the time of his life, nibbling and scattering pieces of tilapia everywhere.  Oh, my sweet boy.

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the end.

another post from the queen of miscellany

So, just some random pictures of the big guys (Yogi, Sian and Hiko) and Anya from the night before :)

I love it when Sian and Yogi start playing.  It always sounds so vicious - a lot of whimpering and yelping, but they absolutely dive into it.  Watching Sian beat the ever loving snot out of Yogi is always fascinating too - because she is so much smaller, and Yogi can wrap himself around her pretty good.  In fact, most of their tussling starts out with Yogi looking like the winner from the out-set, but you take your eyes off of them for a minute and then turn back?  Sian has him by the ear, neck or somewhere else and is dragging him all over the floor and back. 

It surprises me every time, until I remember the two as kits.  Yogi was over four pounds when I brought Sian home as the tiniest kit I've ever seen, and they were roughhousing the first day.  So she's learned to hold her own.  Very quickly.

Other than that, cleaned ferret rooms and fed them (boneless chicken thighs dusted with eggshell powder, and an added jar of baby food, for mister Hiko).

So, yep.  Still doing well <3 p="">

blargh

So!  I cleaned up the big guys' room today and clip nails, because Yogi and Hiko?  Freaking razorblades at the ends of their paws, yay.  They got to roam the downstairs.  Had a blast, too, though I managed not to take any pictures (:C I know, the internet ether likes pictures).  While I rounded up the boys and put them back in their room, I had a lot of commotion down the hallway.  Apparently, Sian was having the time of her life in the shower stall.  Dooking, chittering and wardancing like mad.  It was too cute to believe :D :D :D

Then Rula and Neera got out to run and get their nails clipped.  I made it upstairs in time to catch the fed-ex guy delivering the ferrets' whole prey (hairless large mice, super large rats).  He was redfaced and panting, and I was :/// ??? at him.  Turns out with all the snow, ice, rain and thawing we've been doing his truck couldn't make it up the hill.  You know, the mile-long hill that crests at 3000 ft. above sea level?  Almost a 1000 foot difference from the start of our driveway?  Yeah.  He had to carry a 3 foot long box weighing 44 lbs up that hill.  And here I was wondering why it wasn't delivered yesterday like it was supposed to be, hahaha.

Cradle that box full of critter corpses close to you, man.  It's IMPORTANT.

snowday '13

So we've been having winter weather for awhile now.  Ice, wind, snow, rain, thaw repeat.  Our yard looks like a muddy field where trees go to die (at the worst, we were out of power for a little over a week).

That being said,  because Anya's fur is beautiful and thick thanks to her treatments, and she was going crazy in the room, that she needed to get out.  Ice cold and little flurries falling down, but it was worth it.  She spent most of her time trying out different cubby holes that might serve as a warm(er) place to nap, but between her scurrying she managed to play in mud, water and the little bit of snow that had accumulated in this latest round.

It wasn't long that we were out there.  By ten minutes her little nose was red, and I had to fight her to get her back inside to warm up.  She might go out again later, as well :)

Beyond that, it's almost time for another nail clipping for her, hahahahaha.  Oh, how the time flies.  Also, the  conversion from Marshall's to Wysong is still ongoing, though she's eating the mix (which is mostly Wysong at this point) like a champ.

Hiko's looking like he's due for another des. implant.  His coat is getting distressingly orange again, and he seems a bit more irritable and cranky than he's been (plus Yogi's looking like he wants to start bullying him again, and that's always a sign Hiko's smell is changing and strengthening).

Everyone else is doing great, though!  Yay!