Ferrets are long, silky, fun filled, and cuddly. They can provide endless hours of fun. They can also give you a migraine as you try to pay for the vet bills you didn't think about when you spontaneously purchased that impossibly cute ferret with the incredibly pointed face at the local pet store.
The average lifespan is 7-10 years old with each year equaling ten human years. The tempaeture of a healthy ferret is between 100 and 104 degrees, with most of them hovering at a comfortable 101.9 degrees. The heart rate of the average ferret is about 225 beats per minute but it can range from 180-250 beats per minute. Ferrets have an average respiration rate of 33-36 breaths per minute. It is important to get to know your pet's personality, the better you know your ferrets personality the quicker you will be able to recognize any health issues your ferret might have.
The first thing you might learn about your pet ferret is that not only will it love to have your undivided attention it can also catch that twenty-four hour flue you had a few days ago. The ability to catch diseases from their human owners is one of those unique traits that separates ferrets from cats and dogs (cats and dogs can not catch the flu from humans). Hopefully now that you are armed with that knowledge you will be savvy enough to bring your pet ferret to the veterinarian (preferably one with knowledge and experience about ferrets) before it starts showing flu like symptoms. Ferrets are very sturdy animals when they are healthy but once they get sick they can go down hill fast. It is important your veterinarian sees your pet and prescribe a treatment as soon as possible.
Young ferrets are often fed hard food before they are really ready for it. The hard food can cause your new pet to develop a prolapsed rectum (the rectum is on the outside of the body instead of inside). Oddly enough this is not normally something your local veterinarian needs to see. Normally the rectum returns to its normal position after a few days. Smear a small amount of Preparation-H on the exposed rectum to help keep it moist and keep a close eye on it. Remember that pink is good. As long as the flesh of the prolapsed rectum is a nice healthy looking rosy pink it's healthy. If the healthy pink color starts to fade take your pet ferret to the vet for a consultation.
Ferrets suffer from a variety of diseases and tumors such as insulinorma, tumors, heart disease, intestinal conditions, and complications involving the liver and intestines and spleen. Many pet ferrets are plagued with multiple issues at the same time. Most diseases commonly found in ferrets will need some type of veterinary care which will often include surgery.
If you are concerned about being flooded with an endless amount of expensive veterinarian bills that you don't know if you will be able to pay you may want to consider purchasing animal health insurance for your pet ferret.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Health: How to keep in good shape
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With a new couse to start, a new place to live and roughly 14,302 new people to meet, it's possible that your health isn't high on your current list of priorities. But if you consider it now, you're less likely to have it interrupting your fun in the near future, and you'll be prepared if anything does go wrong. Here, then, is your indispensable guide to staying healthy at university... knock yourselves out. (Not literally, of course.)
Get a GP sharpish
Whether or not you've yet succumbed to freshers' flu, you should find a doctor as soon as possible. Ideally do this while you're healthy; filling out forms during feverish hallucinations is far more difficult. If you're living in halls of residence, they should advise you as to your nearest GP surgery; otherwise find it at www.nhs.uk.
Know your meningitis facts
While meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain) is well known as an illness students can get, it's not one to use as an excuse for missing that 9am Monday morning tutorial. This is a seriously nasty disease, recognisable by some or all of the following: vomiting, severe headaches, sensitivity to light, confusion, a temperature, sore or stiff joints, fitting and a nasty rash. If you suspect you have meningitis, get medical attention straight away as it can be life-threatening.
Drink sensibly
As with so many things, the best way to enjoy drinking is not to overdo it. After all, there's nothing very fun about putting someone in the recovery position while they spew Blue WKD on to the pavement. Or about having a drink-fuelled row. Stomach-pumping isn't high on laughs, in fact. Neither, now we come to think of it, is getting so trashed that it leaves you vulnrable to getting mugged or raped on the way home. The Department Of Health recommends no more than 28 units a week for men (where a glass of wine is one unit and a pint is two units), and 21 for women. Try to stick to it.
Drugs can damage your health
Illegal drugs, besides funding some very wrong things, can kill you or affect your long-term mental health. Never has there been more reason to just say no. Simple.
Watch what you eat
According to our national newspapers, yours is the last non-obese, non-diabetic generation of students. Keep it that way by eating regular healthy meals. Sensible types will get around one third of their calories from carbohydrates (bread, rice, pasta and cereal, for example) and the rest from protein (the likes of meat, fish, cheese, tofu and lentils), fruits and vegetables. Occasional treats are fine, but if you're on first-name terms with the staff at your local kebab shop, it's time to rein it in.
Jump around
Quite a basic one this: spend your days sitting on the sofa watching Neighbours and Hollyoaks on a loop and you will become fat and lethargic and get a diseased heart. Join a sports club, have a kick-about, dance the night away in a club, go for a run or cycle into university and you will be healthy and, no doubt, irresistibly attractive. What's not to love about exercise?
SSG suggests...
While you're getting a GP, sort yourself out with an NHS dentist. It's a worthwhile investment if you want to keep all your own teeth beyond, say, the age of 25.
Like a car, you need plenty of water to keep from overheating. Unlike a car you need around eight glasses a day to supply oxygen to cells, remove waste and generally avoid turning into a cream cracker. Oh, and you don't need petrol or windscreen wipers either.
Slap on an SPF15 or higher sun cream whenever the sun is shining and you'll be laughing - without lines permanently etched on your leathery husk of a face or skin cancer worries.
That cheese in your hand? The one you've just grabbed from the fridge that has a Post-it note saying "Rachel" on it, even though no one called Rachel has entered the kitchen for at least three years? Throw it out, along with (in particular) any ageing meat, salad and cooked rice.
Many studies say that supplements contain vitamins in an unnatural form, and so aren't digested properly. For a quick nutritional fix, eat superfoods like blueberries or spinach instead.
With a new couse to start, a new place to live and roughly 14,302 new people to meet, it's possible that your health isn't high on your current list of priorities. But if you consider it now, you're less likely to have it interrupting your fun in the near future, and you'll be prepared if anything does go wrong. Here, then, is your indispensable guide to staying healthy at university... knock yourselves out. (Not literally, of course.)
Get a GP sharpish
Whether or not you've yet succumbed to freshers' flu, you should find a doctor as soon as possible. Ideally do this while you're healthy; filling out forms during feverish hallucinations is far more difficult. If you're living in halls of residence, they should advise you as to your nearest GP surgery; otherwise find it at www.nhs.uk.
Know your meningitis facts
While meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain) is well known as an illness students can get, it's not one to use as an excuse for missing that 9am Monday morning tutorial. This is a seriously nasty disease, recognisable by some or all of the following: vomiting, severe headaches, sensitivity to light, confusion, a temperature, sore or stiff joints, fitting and a nasty rash. If you suspect you have meningitis, get medical attention straight away as it can be life-threatening.
Drink sensibly
As with so many things, the best way to enjoy drinking is not to overdo it. After all, there's nothing very fun about putting someone in the recovery position while they spew Blue WKD on to the pavement. Or about having a drink-fuelled row. Stomach-pumping isn't high on laughs, in fact. Neither, now we come to think of it, is getting so trashed that it leaves you vulnrable to getting mugged or raped on the way home. The Department Of Health recommends no more than 28 units a week for men (where a glass of wine is one unit and a pint is two units), and 21 for women. Try to stick to it.
Drugs can damage your health
Illegal drugs, besides funding some very wrong things, can kill you or affect your long-term mental health. Never has there been more reason to just say no. Simple.
Watch what you eat
According to our national newspapers, yours is the last non-obese, non-diabetic generation of students. Keep it that way by eating regular healthy meals. Sensible types will get around one third of their calories from carbohydrates (bread, rice, pasta and cereal, for example) and the rest from protein (the likes of meat, fish, cheese, tofu and lentils), fruits and vegetables. Occasional treats are fine, but if you're on first-name terms with the staff at your local kebab shop, it's time to rein it in.
Jump around
Quite a basic one this: spend your days sitting on the sofa watching Neighbours and Hollyoaks on a loop and you will become fat and lethargic and get a diseased heart. Join a sports club, have a kick-about, dance the night away in a club, go for a run or cycle into university and you will be healthy and, no doubt, irresistibly attractive. What's not to love about exercise?
SSG suggests...
While you're getting a GP, sort yourself out with an NHS dentist. It's a worthwhile investment if you want to keep all your own teeth beyond, say, the age of 25.
Like a car, you need plenty of water to keep from overheating. Unlike a car you need around eight glasses a day to supply oxygen to cells, remove waste and generally avoid turning into a cream cracker. Oh, and you don't need petrol or windscreen wipers either.
Slap on an SPF15 or higher sun cream whenever the sun is shining and you'll be laughing - without lines permanently etched on your leathery husk of a face or skin cancer worries.
That cheese in your hand? The one you've just grabbed from the fridge that has a Post-it note saying "Rachel" on it, even though no one called Rachel has entered the kitchen for at least three years? Throw it out, along with (in particular) any ageing meat, salad and cooked rice.
Many studies say that supplements contain vitamins in an unnatural form, and so aren't digested properly. For a quick nutritional fix, eat superfoods like blueberries or spinach instead.
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