February 2000

By Linda LaFrentz

  Sister and her twin brother were born May 30, 1999. Their mom, Rosie was giving plenty of milk. I took them away from her a few times just to be sure. They are both so cute. I could always tell Sister right away. Her fur has a real red tint. Her eyes even looked blue. The twins came to live in the house when they were 14 days old. Like all babies that age they just eat, sleep, and poop. When they first came to live with us, I called them just Sister and Brother. It makes it a little bit easier to give them up if I don't give them a 'real' name. Usually the females are more outgoing and feisty than the males. In this case --the opposite was true. Brother was always the bouncy one and the first one to dart out of the  cage and hug my neck. So much personality and boy was  he ready for his bottle!!

On June 30, 1999  Sister was four weeks old and she got real  sick. She ran a high fever of 105* and had diarrhea. The Veterinarian that usually takes care of my lemurs was on his day off, so I had to find another vet that was qualified to take care of exotics. It was late in the day. I was afraid if I didn't find something to break the fever and control the diarrhea that she might not make it through the night. I gave her pedialite and Pepto Bismol, but it wasn't enough. The other vet gave me some Amoxicillan antibiotic and something for the diarrhea. Within a few days she was much better. For a week to 10 days she wanted to be by herself. I put her in a separate cage from Brother with a heating pad and blankets.

She started playing again. I put her back with Brother. During the day they would climb and play in a big cage. I use this cage for all the newborn lemurs and Precious too, which by the way, she is almost 4 years old now. When they were about eight weeks old they were climbing and playing in their cage. I noticed that Sister had a swollen ankle. I rubbed some Emu oil on it. The swelling went down. I thought she had twisted it while playing. Within a few days the other ankle swelled and she started running fever. When this happened, I knew it had to be something more serious than a twisted ankle.

  This time on July 30, my regular Vet, Dr. Lance Crews, was at the office.

He said in a real sad voice, "oh Linda, I hate to tell you this, but she has JOINT ILL!! Joint Ill, what's that? How did she get it? I had heard of it somewhere but I couldn't recall what it was. He asked me if she had been sick within the last 2-4 weeks. I was shocked--yes she was! I told him that I tried to reach him, but he wasn't available. Another vet took care of her and she got ok.-- I asked him to explain it to me. He said " the infection probably entered through the umbilicus at birth and then through the vascular system isolating in joints and the extremities". As I understand it, this is a bacterial infection and bacteria is all around. We breath it, eat it, or it gets in a cut ( or umbilicus at birth ). I never have taken the baby lemurs and put iodine on the naval, but maybe I should.....This is a bacterial infection that gets in the "gut".(Websters) II: Gut 1.a. The alimentary canal. b. one of its parts, as the intestines. 2. The bowels: entrails.) It attacks the lining and pierces a hole. From there the bacteria is in the body cavity and goes to the blood stream. From there it attacks the joints. In her case (maybe all cases) it started in her ankles then it went to her knees, then the hips. Dr. Crews tried to draw fluid out of the joints to grow a culture. No purulent material was found-but he wiped the needle on the culture swab and said "maybe". Note: Webster's II --Purulent-- "containing, discharging or accompanied by pus." He told me that if she made it --that it would be a long haul. He gave me a swab to take home and if the swelling drained, I was to get a culture by wiping the fluid. It never drained. Dr. Crews put her on Clavamox Drops. I still had some Amoxicillan Drops from the last time she was sick. Enough to last until she saw Dr Crews again. I was to give 3 drops of both, twice a day. I was to take her back in a week.

 When I took her back on August 11, she wasn't better she was worse. During that week the swelling started to move up to the other joints from the ankle. He put her to sleep so he could do more probing with the needle. He uses the same anesthetic that the hospitals use on humans. The name is ' Isoflorane Gas Anesthesia.'...Still no fluid...... While she was out he X-rayed the hips and legs. It wasn't fluid but white like bone. Enlarged Bones!! He said that animals that get this very seldom get over it. She would be paralyzed and never be able to walk and he would be surprised if she didn't have liver damage. I was mortified!! This couldn't be happening!! I pleaded can you think of anything else that you can give her? He added Anterobe Aquadrops ( tastes awful, real bitter) with the Clavamox. She looked so bad and pitiful that she looked like she should to be put down. Tears welled up and I told him I wasn't ready to give up. He was going on vacation for two weeks. He informed another Vet about what was going on and said if I needed anything to call him. Thank the good Lord I didn't have to. Note: If you have to put an animal to sleep for some reason, be sure and ask your vet what he or she is using. Not all gas anesthesia is the same. Better to be safe than sorry......  I might ought to add that freaky things can happen no matter how many precautions you take.......

"Come on honey it's time to take your medicine." The medicine tasted awful, but she would make a face and open her mouth for me to give her the drops. (I know how bad it tasted, because I laid her dropper down and it touched a toothpick that I was using. (**Yuk**) I also had a special weapon that I intended to use. Remember Ready Mother by Blackburn's Best? My last article on "hand raising a baby lemur?"  Blackburn's Best Phone # 1-800-691-MILK (6455). Joint Ill is a bacterial infection, so the Ready Mother puts back the good bacteria, plus it's packed with vitamins. Anytime an animal or human takes antibiotics it destroy the good bacteria. We have to have the antibiotics to get rid of the infection. So we need to add good bacteria to the diet. I started with 1/4 - 1/2 cc of the Ready Mother three times a day. I buy mine from Double Circle Coop in Waco, TX., a farm supplies company. A good source of acidophilus (good bacteria) is in Yogurt. Dannon's is a good brand.

I wish now that I had taken pictures of her when she was dragging her little body around. She would use her hands and arms to pull herself around. No use of her legs or feet at all. She wanted to play with brother so bad. She would sit and look up at him bouncing and climbing around. She has such a strong spirit and will to live. But I really thought I would have to put her down, so I just couldn't take the pictures. It just broke my heart.

  When I took her back to see Dr. Crews on September 8, I wasn't sure if she was better or not. She didn't have any fever, but still couldn't use her legs. He said "let me hold her". When he took her she wanted her mama. That was the first time I saw something real positive. She tried to grip her toes around his finger. He grinned real big--"Look at that!!" He was thrilled , and so was I !! Something positive --but not out of the woods. I kept her on the antibiotic until I ran out. I still have her on the "Ready Mother twice a day."

On September 12, when the twins were about 3 1/2 months old Brother went to a new home. His name changed to "Nino." This is when Sister's name got shortened to "Sissy". He is the love of their life. Next to their kids and grandkids of course! I am so thrilled when my babies find such good homes. Mike, the new dad, calls about every other day to tell me about the joy he has brought to their life. Aurea is his new mom. Nino likes to comb and rearrange her hair-do. They take their grandkids to the zoo and just watch the Ringtail Lemurs and take pictures (for 2 hours). They really are a beautiful animal.~

  I saw Dr Crews again on October 18. Sissy was 5 1/2 months old. I got the good news. He said "It's amazing~ ~ she's going  to be fine. In 6 months you'll never know she was sick. WONDERFUL. He told me that if she made it --it would be a long haul. Boy, it sure has been. I took my camera with me and asked him if I could take some pictures of him holding her. He said he would be glad to. I have watched him with his other customers and patients. He really loves all animals, dog, cat, horse, cow, or exotics. He treats everyone (animals and humans) in a happy, & positive manner. Makes you feel real special and lucky to have a vet like him.

  By this time I have increased the amount of Ready Mother to 1cc twice a day. I bought the last 2 tubes of Ready Mother from the Coop. They reordered it. A week later I called--still on back order-- So on Nov. 10, I called Blackburn's Best myself. They were having Back Orders on colostrum and some other ingredients needed to make the formula. They had 4 tubes on hand. Can I have them PLEASE??? I don't want to be without this product. I told them the situation and they were nice enough to say yes. They said it would be C.O.D., I told them that's fine, just put a note on the box for the post office to Hold and Call. When the post office called on Nov 15, I asked them "how much do I owe you?" Nothing there is a postage stamped on the box??? So, I said, "well go ahead and send it with the postman." When I got the package, I opened it--there was this real nice note.

"Dear Linda,

We decided to just send you these tubes at no charge. Please keep us updated on how your 'baby' is doing and we can't wait to read your next article. Best wishes!

                                                              Sincerely yours,

                                                                   Blackburn's Best "

I was so grateful for their thoughtful gift, and so was Sissy. When she had to take her medicine, she would make an awful face, but the Ready Mother was THE GOOD ONE. She got this one last. She likes it.

When she was 6 months old she quit her bottle. Stools are firming up--refusing the Ready Mother unless she can hold the spoon. All during her illness her stools were looser than they should have been. I read an article about a monkey that was allergic to it's primate biscuit (the corn) and got a bacterial infection. It didn't get joint ill though. It makes me wonder now if an allergy to her formula could have caused her problems (just a thought)-- She is looking better every day. Her fur is looking healthier. Her knees are starting  to look more normal. They didn't look like big door knobs. I should add that she still has a heating pad and blankets available all the time. She has outgrown the Pamper Preemie's. I am now using Huggies Newborn with Quilted Cover. I worry about her biting the plastic on some of the other diapers. I'm afraid she might get choked. She is small for her age, because of her illness, but she is starting to catch up.

 There is a private company that is working with Bio-Serv to make their line of Primate Products available to the public. This is a very important step towards primate health, especially when it comes to raising infants. Bio-Serv is the only manufacturer of PRIMILAC  Primate Infant formula. If you are interested in more information on the products that will be available and the price, check out these web sites: http://mommensJ.web2010.com. This site is entitled The Primate Care Site. Go to the store at: http://our-pets.net/store_primate1.htm. You can email Johan and Pam Mommens at: Info@our-pets.net .