Bobbing heads and naked bodies
It was soon after the Transfer Factor Plus capsules arrived and I had been giving it to the quartet when I noticed Kahlua’s head bobbing. It was like she was licking her mouth, or had something stuck in her mouth – just moving her head up and down for a second so nothing too dramatic but still odd.
I thought that perhaps it was a reaction to the TFPlus so kept my beady eye on her. She didn’t bob her head often but I told Philip about it and a couple of days later, he saw her doing that too.
What on earth causes a ferret to bob its head?! I checked her throat and head for lumps and bumps but everything was normal to my touch. I tried to look inside her mouth to see if there was anything there but that was not too successful. However, as she didn’t bob her head all the time, I assumed there was nothing dramatic happening inside her mouth to warrant a trip to the vet.
The bobbing happened for about a week and not often – once a day at the most – so what caused it?
No idea!
I made sure Kahlua had her smoothy with the TFPlus and marine phytoplankton added to it, and also made sure she had a small saucer of pet milk and the phytoplankton every morning with Muis.
So far, so good. No more bobbing. Is that because she had the supplements or did it just stop by itself, I wonder.
And my reference to naked bodies …. well, that’s Muis. Her coat is getting incredibly thin and while she’s not totally bald, the melatonin doesn’t seem to be kicking in.
Tomorrow will be the 8th week anniversary of her being on melatonin and I would have thought that she should start to show SOME regrowth by now.
Poor little old lady.
But all things considered, her quality of life seems to be good at present and she is bright and alert when awake so I’m grateful for that.
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Tagged with: Ferret Illness
Filed under: Adrenal Gland Disease • Ferret Illnesses • Insulinoma in Ferrets
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hey Nona
it’s bill
the head bobbing, if she’s doing it when she eats or after it could be she doesn’t like the texture of the mix.
Julian dose that too if it’s to thick or not blended really well,
If i thin it down just a little more with warm water she stops.
sometimes i just need to stir it up some as it will settle
in the dish. she will do it when it gets cold too.
Hi Bill
Thanks for that
Yes, I know what you mean about the texture business – however, thankfully she’s stopped her bobbing for now so I hope it was just a little aberration and that there’s nothing to worry about
poor Muis–all I know is that oral melatonin is a fickle thing–most owners say that it stops working relatively quickly (the ferret’s body becomes tolerant and doesn’t use it, just gets rid of it). Others have said that it never worked to begin with. Maybe this is what’s happened with her?
That’s great news to hear about Kahlua (well, not the spontaneous head-bobbing, but being alert and bright).
Hey Sunny – do you have any experience with the melatonin implants? Do they work like a charm? Certainly what I read online, they seem to be good when it comes to regrowing a ferret’s hair.
Oh well, I’ll keep giving her her pills and who knows, maybe she’ll have a luxurious coat by the time our next winter comes
Thanks for your thoughts – much appreciated!
I do have first-hand experience with the implants. My oldest, Pixie, gets one every fall (she has trouble getting in her winter coat, but she’s been tested for adrenal disease and it came back well within the normal range, so, who knows).
The vets use a scary-big needle to get the tiny, implant in (it’s about the size of a grain of rice) on her upper back. Usually, she’s extremely tired for the first two days, only waking up to use the litterbox and to eat/drink. After that, she’s her old self, with bonus spazzing
. Her coat starts coming in nice and thick within two weeks. I have a picture of her with the melatonin-aided winter coat, and it’s gorgeous and thick.
I don’t know why the implant works so well. Overall, it’s a smaller does (5.4 mg) versus the 1mg tabs for the oral, but it does, and so far Miss Pix’s body hasn’t showed any signs of tolerating it, so that’s good. Maybe one day, the soon, the vets down under will get some in?
Good luck with your business and give them hugs from us in the States!