From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2001-04-25 06:41:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Mason update- trouble breathing?
At 3:54 AM +0000 4/25/01, Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com wrote:
> From: "" <>
>Subject:
>
>Hello
>
>I wrote earlier that Mason's abdomen was like it was in spasm when he was
>eating (I don't know if spasm is the right word). Well, he is now doing it
>all the time, especially if he's lying on his back. My boyfriend said it's
>very shallow breathing, he's breathing very quickly and his whole abdomen is
>moving very quickly. My boyfriend also said that his lungs won't get
>cleared properly if he breathes shallow? That it's likely he'll get fluid
>on his lungs or get pneumonia because he doesn't use his whole lungs to
>breath so they don't get cleared properly? He looks unwell, breathing fast
>and I don't know what to do...
>
>>From Ulrike
>and Jilly, Jack, Bella, Tom, Mason, Baby, Dana, Fox, Reno, Rose, Jasmine,
>Barney, Spike, Hobo and Gremlin
>
>Missing Angel, Hope and Igor
>
>West Wales Ferret Welfare
>E-mail: ferretlove@n...
>http://www.ferretlove.freeserve.co.uk
>Last update 23/02/01
Ulrike,
As a non-vet who has had ferrets with cardiomyopathy, ascites from
muiltiple causes, asthma, and pneumonia with pleurosy I'd sure be
keen on getting a chest x-ray on an emergency basis (and HAVE done
so) if one of our's did this. Shallow fast breathing, if it is that,
makes me think of respiratory tract inflammation, or respiratory
tract infection, or impingement on lungs or heart (perhaps on Vagus
Nerve -- but wouldn't that appear more as one side of the diaphram
stopping), or heart disease or something else causing thoracic
ascites, or possibly severe asthma.