From:
gloominousdoom@earthlink.net
Date: 2001-07-25 15:35:00 UTC
Subject: Generalized Edema?
Hello,
Recently our eldest ferret, Loki, began having nothing but very loose
stools and was also losing weight. We took him to our local vet and
they started him on antibiotics and "albon" (another antibiotic?).
They took x-rays and were suspicious of something there, but weren't
comfortable with doing an exploratory surgery. The day that we took
Loki in, we were in the process of moving.
After bringing him to our new home, he stopped eating and the diarrea
didn't go away. He would lick at some Science Diet A/D and
occasionally eat a treat or two, but none of his totally ferret dry
food. We then took him to a vet known for their specialty in dealing
with ferrets and other "exotic" companions. Today they did an
exploratory surgery and found that he had generalized edema
throughout all of his tissues. They found no tumors, but have sent
several biopsies from the liver, pancreas, and stomach to a
pathologist. Loki's blood tests indicated poor liver values and a
slightly low blood sugar.
His x-rays had in fact also pointed to some fluid around his heart.
What could be causing this?
We have to wait 7-10 days for biopsy results and I am nervous as this
does not seem to resemble the top five or so common ferret illnesses.
Has anyone had any sort of experience with something like this?
--Brandi