From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2001-04-10 21:12:00 UTC
Subject: Re: coughing, sneezing, and gagging ferret
>My little EZ woke me up Sunday morning, when I heard him coughing
>and almost "gasping" under the bed. His heart seemed to be racing,
>his stomach was making all kinds of noises, and he seemed very
>swollen in the chest/belly area. He would gag, like he was going to
>vomit, but nothing would come out, and when he swallowed he made
>gasping noises........
>This went on for about 10 - 15 mins. I gave him some laxitone, which
>he licked up, and then went to bed.........but, he was still
>gasping/wheezing everytime he took a breath............ he got up
>then and went to the bathroom, but just a small amount of stool came
>out..............he stayed like this for about a half an hour, and
>then he got up, ate and played.........like nothing ever happened.
>
>Could this just have been something as underlying as hair in his
>throat? This happened once before about 6 months ago. (the exact
>same way.) He is about 5 years old, a MF ferret, and going in for
>adrenal surgery next month. Please let me know if I should be
>checking him out for something else............or if I should do
>something different if this happens again. It was very scary.
>
>Thank you.
>
>Tracy
Given the episode and the upcoming stress of surgery I suspect it
perhaps makes sense to do some pre-surgical testing like a chest
x-ray, and general blood tests like a CBC. Better to be safe than
sorry.
He might have had a floating hairball that dislodged; he might have
one that is causing problems on and off which is still in there so
vet can check that possibility, too, when the op is done. Perhaps he
had a short-term infection.
If you do the testing you reduce the chances of nasty surprises. We
have found it to be a good idea, esp. in ones who are in their middle
or older years.