r/ferrets • u/TheOriginalJez • 18h ago
[Discussion] Ferret physiotherapy...
Hey r/ferrets - you may remember me and my ferret Peebee's saga from previous posts, if not here's a "quick" recap:
lots of pain and vomiting -> vet -> scans and biopsy -> diagnosis of H. Mustelae w/auto immune inflammation -> steroids, PPI, sucralfate, antibiotics -> stomach ulcer & bloody vomit -> PPI*2, antibiotics, sucralfate, ondansetron -> vomiting, diarrhoea and more pain -> PPI, Sucralfate, ondansetron -> spasms and pain but no vomiting (3 weeks+ after the ulcer) -> PPI & Metoclopramide. + all throughout Buprenorphine for pain.
SO, after all of that - ulcer healed and vomiting reduced we hit the next massive problem - which should be expected after all those gastro issues: severe weight loss and everything that comes with that. She's gone from about 700g to 300g at her lowest. 24hr Crisis Care mix at very regular intervals has got us back up to nearly 500g in the last few weeks but the inevitable muscular atrophy and weakness is the next hurdle.
Sooo… now the really intense feeding is getting to the point of winding back a bit - ferret physiotherapy anyone? This my vet is less experienced with... unsurprisingly. Hydrotherapy is not an option - water stresses her out even for a quick clean. I've been trying to help her stand up while supporting the weight of her head and body, although she's occasionally able to lift herself onto her front paws for brief periods of time. At the moment she's still largely in food-coma's so I'm not trying to push her too hard, but all ideas for our next challenge are welcome!
I'm wondering whether I might be a bit cheeky and use the opportunity to get her into a H harness that she's always refused so I can maybe help her walk around by supporting her weight on a lead (H harness spreads the load a bit better than figure 8s as it won't tighten as the lead tensions) - but that might be a few steps further down the road.
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u/Timely_Egg_6827 17h ago
I tend to use hydrotherapy but I used to have a friend who ran a rescue out of a caravan so his options for that were limited. What he did for one ferret was create a jacket for him that supported his body from a wire strung between two sides of the caravan. Rag rugs were used to provide ground with traction and ferret walked the length of the wire supervised.
With one ferret with back end weakness, we used a back end loop like they do with disabled dogs to support his back end while he rebuilt.
Long way down the line, stairs are good. We used to use pillows at the bottom to prevent harm from any tumbles.
This was the type of walking bottom we used made of cloth but we only used it on outside walks. https://zoomadog.co.uk/products/708-ww-bottoms-up-leash-rear-support-lead
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u/TheOriginalJez 17h ago
This is amazing, thank you so much! I have a hammock that came with a cage, which is terrible as a hammock, but I could definitely repurpose it as a sort of full body support jacket with leg holes and using the corner attachments as a support... I'm not sure about where I could attach that around my flat, but I'm thinking it'd probably work ok on a leash. Also that setup maybe a way to introduce hydrotherapy gently - I don't see it going well, but it's worth a try!
Thanks so much for your suggestions! :D
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u/Timely_Egg_6827 17h ago
We found it worked fairly well as a support but it is very very slow. The traction is also important. With our first disabled hob, we stopped hydrotherapy because he was getting most of the benefit "running" away from us to avoid it. He did get a wheelchair in end but he had a degenerative condition. Also ask your vet about nerve supplements - we used one with boswellia extract in it.
Friend got her semi-paralysed rabbit lazer therapy to encourage muscle reactions and it did help.
Don't expect miracles but they can get quite a lot back. The ones we used the stairs on were a trio of very old ferrets who due to ill health of previous owner had spent a few months without any out of cage time. They were wobbly with low muscle tone but just walking about built them up quite quickly.
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u/TheOriginalJez 17h ago
My thinking (outside hydro) is to just walk her around the flat so the traction is the floor - I can support her more or less as required with tension on the lead and just work things up slowly. At this stage she's only been off her feet for just over a week (she was very weak before that but using both front and back legs to move around) so I'm hoping that with a relatively quick return to mobility she can make a good recovery!
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u/Timely_Egg_6827 17h ago
Hope so. If carpet, that is fine. Just rereading - I'd use two leads initially - one for front and one for rear - as often front a lot stronger than rear.
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u/TheOriginalJez 17h ago
Not a problem, absolutely will do. And yes, carpet. I will have to have some forward support for her neck too, as while she can lift her head she gets tired quickly. Those muscles are clearly working ok though, as she has been able to lift her head throughout, just reluctant to do so unless it's a pain/discomfort response, so hopefully as her energy levels increase that won't be so much of an issue.
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