Well, Zero was dumped at the humane society like this. My vet was called as he was chipped with her and she remembered after reading his chart that he came in initially with previous owner severely malnourished by ulcers..he could not lift his head and was so thin and it was so bad by then she reccomended euthanasia as he was clearly suffering. Previous owner refused euthanasia so they began aggressive treatment which she did not believe he would survive.
He did survive and by the time he was strong enough to lift his head and properly evaluate him, he was neurological. It is unknown if he was already like this before or after treatment.
The shelter deemed him unadoptable and was going to euthanize but my vet stepped up and said she would handle his rehoming, even if she had to foster him for awhile. He is normal in every respect except he has a neurological manifestations/gait which can cause other issues (he does not play like a "normal" ferret as he is just not coordinated enough and sometimes he would fall over in his own mess while going potty).
He has put on a bunch of weight and has had proper out of cage time here so I'm torn between thinking malnourishment or his muscles dwindled away stuck in a cage or maybe a little of both.
He could not climb a ramp when he first arrived and now he manages them no problem. Of course he tumbles sometimes but his cage is nice and cushioned for that
I have seen huge improvements going potty, his hind end seemed to have a mind of its own from his front end and now he seems to have enough muscle in his back legs to crouch lower to the ground and get enough balance to fall over less while pottying (which means less baths and easier baby wipe cleanup!
)
He has an odd shape to his head which makes me wonder if this was birth or an injury though. It's kind of indented a bit which I've noticed with my Waardenburgs Syndrome kids but he is not deaf so I don't think it's anything like that.
He certainly does have odd ways with his feet, he will not notice if they are curled on themselves or he crosses his legs to hold his balance sometimes. He also does a lot of head bobbing but he's managed to learn how to hold still enough to kiss me on the lips
