From:
TANSY
Date: 2001-05-28 02:55:00 UTC
Subject: RE: [Ferret-Health-list] How can I tell if its a cold or
not.
Is there
> anything I can do for them to help them any? If it is a cold is there
> anything I can give them for it? I heard that antihistamine product
> Chlor-Trimeton may be used at 1/4 tablet 2 times daily for
> sneezing that
> may interfere with sleeping or eating. Has anybody used this? I know
> they should go to a vet but I can't afford it right now.
>
I do not recommend Chlor-Trimeton. It's an anthistmine and not good for
colds or flu in either humans or ferrts. There are some "comfort" things
that can help...do you have a vaporizer or humidifer you can use with them?
I prefer warm mist to loosen the nasal passages, but be careful where you
put it- I love my warm mist one that has cold water in tank....no way for
fuzzies to hurt themselves even if they tip it over. A warm washcloth
applied to the snout is not always appreciated, but can loosen things up. A
lot of my guys also like warm LOW SODIUM chicken broth (or even better make
your own). Warm chicken soup seems to be good for fuzzies as well as their
parents. Also, if you normally use water bottles, I suggest putting water
bowls out to encourage them to drink more (ferrets do drink more from a bowl
than a bottle). If they like Pedialyte you could add that to their water.
Finally if they start running high temps, or lungs get congested they NEED
to get to the vet for antibiotics. They can get secondary infections just
like people- I have had ferrets go into pneumonia after what looked like a
simple flu. So be viligent, and hopefully it's just a mild flu that will
pass in a couple days.
Good luck!
tansy