Message Number: YG7338 | New FHL Archives Search
From: Bonnie Petit
Date: 2001-09-20 05:30:27 UTC
Subject: Honey

WE had a little boy ferret 2 years ago that had the "green slime" runny
stools as well. The vet at the time I wish I could remember what we did,
but we changed his food, cleaned his cage, water every day, and within about
10 days it cleared itself. I hope yours also does the same. I know there
were articles somewhere online that mentioned Green Stool Disease, and Green
Ooze, but he did clear up on his own, without surgery or expensive tests. I
hope the same for your little baby!

Bonnie Petit
Administrative Coordinator
McDonald Real Estate, Inc.

bonnie@t...
Doing what you like is freedom, Liking what you do is happiness

-----Original Message-----
From: Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2001 11:04 AM
To: Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com


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The advice and opinions expressed in this forum are by no means a substitute
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------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are 18 messages in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

1. Re: Adrenal cancer
From: echotally@y...
2. Re: itchy fert
From: "Lynne Troy" <my4ferrets@c...>
3. Re: back injuries
From: Jacqueline Snyder <SNYDER@G...>
4. adrenal cancer
From: "lisa smith" <demon@i...>
5. Re: INTESTINAL FLU - Need help now, please
From: "Cheryl & Steve" <email@t...>
6. Re: Melatonin
From: "Cheryl & Steve" <email@t...>
7. Thinning hair
From: "Jim & Laura Ferris" <jlferris@s...>
8. Question on inflamed area
From: diwilliams310@a...
9. Lupron together with melatonin?
From: CandiceBush@a...
10. Thinning hair on tummy/HELP!
From: tanya@s...
11. Scooter update
From: Sukie Crandall <sukiecrandall@t...>
12. Re: back injuries
From: sukiecrandall@t...
13. Re: adrenal cancer
From: sukiecrandall@t...
14. Re: Thinning hair
From: sukiecrandall@t...
15. Primary Splenomegaly; have to go back to rule out insulinoma or ?
From: "Debbie Utter" <dutter@n...>
16. Re: Adrenal cancer
From: ferrethealer@a...
17. Scent Glands
From: katharine <shurcool@i...>
18. Honey
From: "jones" <dodson@t...>


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Message: 1
From: echotally@y...

-I have had two ferrets this summer face the adrenal surgery and they
came through with flying colors. It is amazing how fast they snap back
from this. Since my first ferret had a "borderline adrenal panel" and
my second,Lucy, had a negative panel but indeed had adrenal carcinoma
of the left gland; I would go with my instincts and go for the
surgery. Make sure the vet is experienced not only in left adrenal
removal; but right as well; as it is tricker.


" It is still so hard to
believe
> she has cancer. She is so happy and loves to play with everyone
including
> her ferret brother Alex. It seems like she has more energy than
ever. Any
> advise would be greatly appreciated."
> Thanks so much, Maureen & Cleo

My first ferret, Toby, had a benign tumor, so not all the tumors are
cancerous. Hang in there, and let us know how we can help.

Sharon
echo,tally,toby,lucy and peter carlos




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Message: 2
From: "Lynne Troy" <my4ferrets@c...>

--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., Marla Wadsworth <mwadswor@c...> wrote:
> Hi it has been awhile since I have posted but I have a question..I
know
> the itchy ferret question has been asked before but I cannot
remember
> off hand what was said about it...My silver mitt, Meiko, has been
> scratching and biting up a storm but all else seems well..I live in
a
> somewhat dry apartment...esp this time of the year...have yet to
see any
> fleas....thanks in advance for the advice...marla and the crew of si
x

A few of my ferrets suffer from dry skin. I purchased this skin
spray. It's all natural and it works wonders. Stops itching almost
immediately and makes their coats soft. It's called Dr. Gold's
Incredible Skin Spray. You can purchase it on-line from
www.cherrybrook.com Do a search for "incredible skin spray". It's
item #05-019, $9.90 for a 16 oz. spray bottle.

Lynne




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Message: 3
From: Jacqueline Snyder <SNYDER@G...>

We recently euthanized a ferret who had a degenerative spinal condition. I
posted to the FHL last summer on it, when his problem appeared. In a
nutshell, a previously healthy ferret suddenly began losing control of his
back legs. This ataxia spread upward so that he eventually lost bladder and
bowel control. By the end, he was facing infections due to the inability
to urinate.

When the loss of control first appeared, we tested him for a variety of
possible causes--viral, bacterial, trauma, etc. (bloodwork, radiographs,
spinal tap, myelogram). His fifth lumbar vertebra was slightly misshapen
and dye would not move past it in the myelogram. The situation was somewhat
confused because another of our ferrets developed a hind end weakness at
the same time, but that turned out to be unrelated. However, we did
determine that three half siblings (various related mothers and one father)
appeared to also have a very slightly abnormal gait and the vet felt there
was some degree of spinal abnormality in each of them. In short, we felt it
was a genetic problem. In any case, the only treatment was steroids, which
seemed to make the ferret more comfortable. Surgery to open up the ferret's
spine and find and repair whatever was wrong was beyond the capability of
anyone in our area.

The vet performed a necropsy and sent slides to a pathologist. The ferret's
spine was abnormally thick and the spinal cord was severely compressed.
This explained the loss of function. The pathologist concluded that the
damage was due to earlier trauma. The vet, however, disagrees and still
feels it was due to a birth defect.

This ferret, and his siblings, had been bred to have a short 'baby' face
and a wide, stocky body. He was indeed an adorable ferret, but it seems
highly likely to me that breeding for the short face inadvertantly also
bred for the spine defect.






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Message: 4
From: "lisa smith" <demon@i...>

I've heard adrenal cancer is relatively common among ferrets. I was
wondering if anyone can tell me the symptoms? Thanks!


[This message contained attachments]



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Message: 5
From: "Cheryl & Steve" <email@t...>

Hi Carol,
Usually a green stool is telling us that the food that was consumed was not
digested. Unfortunately ECE comes to mind or a very stressful situation.
Steve
----- Original Message -----
From: thayneg@u...
To: Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2001 3:33 PM


My ferret has been having nasty smelling green-slimy stools. My book
says it can be intestinal flu. He has been in the hospital since
yesterday and the vet really doesn't know how to diagnose or treat it.
How? Blood test? The stool tests for parasites have been negative I
think 2 or 3 have been done so far. What can help the poor creature?
He has lost about 14 ounces in the last 3 or 4 weeks. Any suggestions
for us? Thanks, dooks to all. ferretier (aka Carol), Shy-Girl, Tr,
Me-Me



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To post to the Ferret Health List send an email to:
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The advice and opinions expressed in this forum are by no means a
substitute for prompt, hands-on care, from a licensed, practicing
veterinarian.



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[This message contained attachments]



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Message: 6
From: "Cheryl & Steve" <email@t...>

Hi All,
I am using 1 mg of Melatonin mixed in with nutrical myself on three ferrets
and I just started to notice that all three were growing hair. I also
noticed its around the time that ferrets tend to bulk up for the winter so I
was wondering if 1 mg per ferret was not enough and only started working
with the additional release of the ferrets own chemicals at summers end. I
believe I read somewhere that 1 to 3 mg is a normal dose but I am unable to
confirm that. I believe you should give the Melatonin every day at about 8
hours after the sun comes up.
Steve
----- Original Message -----
From: Rbossart@a...
To: Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2001 6:43 PM



In a message dated 9/18/01 8:07:27 AM, Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com
writes:

<< Can somebody please tell me the amount of melatonin recommended to help
the

symptoms of adrenal disease?? >>

We're currently treating an 8 year old sprite with 1 mg of liquid
melatonin
(0.4 ml of a solution that is 2.5 mg/ml) once an evening. It took several
months until we saw significant decrease in the adrenal signs, but she is
now
normal looking and full of energy.

Dick B.



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Message: 7
From: "Jim & Laura Ferris" <jlferris@s...>

One of my ferrets has thinning hair just in his neck area. The thinning is
front and back--all the way around. He has no other symptoms and acts
normal. He lets another of our ferrets do the bite and hang on thing, but
I'm wondering if this is really what is causing the hair thinning. Is
adrenal disease always characterized by the balding tail and rear?
Thanks for any info.


[This message contained attachments]



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Message: 8
From: diwilliams310@a...

I have a question regarding my 1.5 year old female ferret Coco. We've had
Coco for a couple of months now and things have been going great. When I
first adopted her, we took her to the vet for a checkup. I had noticed that
she had fleas at the time and wanted to make sure everything else was fine.
At the vet, Coco decided to go to the bathroom while the vet was examining
her. Surprised we were happy she did that, because we noticed that inside
her
female area it was very inflamed. It wasn't swollen but just very red. The
vet gave her an inflammatory injection and put her on amoxicillin for a
week.
We kind of figured it was stress and from the change in food. She's been
acting fine ever since. Just last night, I had her out running around our
living room and she had decided to back up in a corner and go. I quickly ran
over there to pick her up and put her in the litterbox, but she started to
go
as we were running. Well, her insides were still red. It didn't look so bad
as last time, but it was definitely red. What could cause this? Would this
be
a sign of Adrenal Disease? She did have a small bald spot above her tail,
but
after we took care of the fleas it grew back. She acts fine. She is always
playing with my other ferret and doesnt seem sick or ill. Am I overreacting?
Should that area be red inside? Does this require another vet visit? I would
appreciate any help.
Thanks!
Dianna, Coco and Squeaker


[This message contained attachments]



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Message: 9
From: CandiceBush@a...

Has anyone here used both lupron and melatonin together, or are they only
used separately? Brutus has had most of both adrenals out and is getting
Lupron shots, but his fur is not growing and I fear he may be developing
some
straining at urination. Please email me directly.

cb
CandiceBush@a...



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Message: 10
From: tanya@s...

Hi everyone,

I'm mostly a lurker ~ thank goodness because I think that means my
guys are healthy : ). Anyway, my best friend has a fert problem.
This is how she describes it:

"very sweet, active, playful, normally napping, eating, pp'ing and
pooping 7yr old MF male fuzz butt has small amount of hair loss on
tummy, mostly to right side of midline tummy...all of a sudden I can
see his nipples and feel his skin. The tummy is also tight, like
he's flexing, I can feel the abdomen wall very distinctly from the
little bit of chub under his skin. When I try to moosh
and feel around on his tummy, I don't feel any distinctive mass, just
the tightness of the abdominal wall. Just wondering if anyone has
any ideas or if you know of any correlation of some process with this
hair loss/tummy tightness...also having a blood panel on the 24th,
what should they be looking for? Is that soon enough (today is the
19th). PLS TELL ME EVERYTING YOU KNOW I am freaking out!! Thanks,
very sincerely, Yoda's spastic mom."

I hope someone/anyone out there has some advice to help her.

Thanks!

Your fellow ferret furling, Tanya
Max, Raider, Peanut, Goose, Unagi, Pikachu, and for Snickers who
continues to make a place for us all at the bridge.

thanks t, mel





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Message: 11
From: Sukie Crandall <sukiecrandall@t...>


--
So, we got the pathology and blood results back on Scooter.

His adrenal tumor was the standard nonmalignant hyperplasia.

All they found with his stomach (which keeps increasing in size and
getting thicker and has been biopsied twice in 6 months with fur
balls both times which is truly weird for our household) was moderate
mural gastritis. Why this is happening and worsening is pretty well
anyone's guess right now, since nothing has panned out as being
diagnostic or curative so far.

His liver has atypical lymphocytosis even though his blood values for
lymphocytes were fine. That's possibly a concern. It means that he
might have have nothing serious and it will clear up, he might be
heading toward trouble, or he might have lymphoma in his liver. The
vets are going to be consulting with a couple of experts who
specialize in such things to see how to time and guide things like
blood liver values, and (They suspect likely.) further liver biopsies.

Any possible insights would be appreciated.

Poor little guy has never been really healthy and he's couch potato
by choice which is kind of funny because his closest friends are
athletes, but Tooty sure can cuddle and he talks while he kisses.
He's incredibly social with both ferrets and humans.


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Message: 12
From: sukiecrandall@t...

We have some human friends who have a similar problem in
their family (except it's the cervical spine) and for them it is
genetic but does not show up in handicaps till they are 40 or
older. The surgery is extremely tricky for them and only partly
successful. The father and both of the sons have it.

I guess what I am saying is that such thickenings can be genetic
in humans, and multiple members of that line have abnormal
gaits, so they others need to be watched closely and there
needs to be serious thought given by the breeder(s) to culling
that genetic line. It could be a terrible thing to pass along.



--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., Jacqueline Snyder <SNYDER@G...>
wrote:
> We recently euthanized a ferret who had a degenerative spinal
condition. I
> posted to the FHL last summer on it, when his problem
appeared. In a
> nutshell, a previously healthy ferret suddenly began losing
control of his
> back legs. This ataxia spread upward so that he eventually lost
bladder and
> bowel control. By the end, he was facing infections due to the
inability
> to urinate.
>
> When the loss of control first appeared, we tested him for a
variety of
> possible causes--viral, bacterial, trauma, etc. (bloodwork,
radiographs,
> spinal tap, myelogram). His fifth lumbar vertebra was slightly
misshapen
> and dye would not move past it in the myelogram. The situation
was somewhat
> confused because another of our ferrets developed a hind end
weakness at
> the same time, but that turned out to be unrelated. However,
we did
> determine that three half siblings (various related mothers and
one father)
> appeared to also have a very slightly abnormal gait and the vet
felt there
> was some degree of spinal abnormality in each of them. In
short, we felt it
> was a genetic problem. In any case, the only treatment was
steroids, which
> seemed to make the ferret more comfortable. Surgery to open
up the ferret's
> spine and find and repair whatever was wrong was beyond the
capability of
> anyone in our area.
>
> The vet performed a necropsy and sent slides to a pathologist.
The ferret's
> spine was abnormally thick and the spinal cord was severely
compressed.
> This explained the loss of function. The pathologist concluded
that the
> damage was due to earlier trauma. The vet, however,
disagrees and still
> feels it was due to a birth defect.
>
> This ferret, and his siblings, had been bred to have a short
'baby' face
> and a wide, stocky body. He was indeed an adorable ferret, but
it seems
> highly likely to me that breeding for the short face inadvertantly
also
> bred for the spine defect.



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Message: 13
From: sukiecrandall@t...

--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "lisa smith" <demon@i...> wrote:
> I've heard adrenal cancer is relatively common among ferrets.
I was wondering if anyone can tell me the symptoms? Thanks!

Actually, MOST of it is NOT cancer. Most is in the form of benign
neoplasias. There are some very good posts on this in the back
posts which describe the differences and explain terms.
Co-moderator and vet, Bruce Williams, did an incredible one.
You should find the search engine somewhat helpful.

Adrenal growths are very common. Cancer is less so.



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Message: 14
From: sukiecrandall@t...

Some ferrets with adrenal disease don't lose any fur, as with our
Scooterpie. Some lose just on their feet, some lose just over the
sacrum, some on top of the head, some... The fur loss can be
anywhere and tends to be bilateral. eventually it tends to
become quite widespread. There can also be behavioral
changes; one of ours not only picks fights then but she insists
on urinating on the head of the youngest. In females the vulva
may enlarge. Nipples may show up more. Males may develop
dangerous or painful difficulaty urinating.




--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "Jim & Laura Ferris" <jlferris@s...>
wrote:
> One of my ferrets has thinning hair just in his neck area. The
thinning is front and back--all the way around. He has no other
symptoms and acts normal. He lets another of our ferrets do the
bite and hang on thing, but I'm wondering if this is really what is
causing the hair thinning. Is adrenal disease always
characterized by the balding tail and rear?
> Thanks for any info.



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Message: 15
From: "Debbie Utter" <dutter@n...>

I just wanted to share what's going on with my 4yo male, what today's
bloodwork/x-rays show, and seek your opinions on if there's anything more I
can do. In particular, if my vet seems to know what he's talking about.
I'm not looking to trash my vet - I just hope I've found a vet who can
handle the more serious things with ferrets.

Over the last three or four weeks, Brae would occasionally vomit. He was
eating, drinking, and playing normally, so I dismissed it. However, a week
or so ago I noticed evidence in the pen (where five ferrets are housed) that
someone didn't make it to the litter box on the bottom floor. This happened
again twice over the next week. I had no idea who was doing this, but I
know it was Brae at least once because his abdomen was all messy. Last
Thursday, I began noticing that Brae was sleeping a lot more than usual.
Within minutes of being let out of the pen, he would be settled down for a
nap. Thursday night, I saw him hesitate going down the last level of the
pen (it's a nice soft landing to a hammock) and I noticed hind leg weakness
for the first time. He was very wobbly, too. All he wanted to do was
sleep. I put him in a pen by himself Friday morning so I could monitor his
food and water intake and his toilet habits. Everything seemed to be fine,
but he did have a bout or two of vomiting Friday night. Saturday morning I
took him to the vet. He told me that Brae had an extremely enlarged spleen,
and he thought there might be a mass or tumor of some sort in there, too. I
had to bring him back today so x-rays and bloodwork could be done to see if
there were indications of insulinoma, Cushing's Disease, or something else.
At the very least, he figured we'd probably have to do a splenectomy. Last
night, Brae vomited probably six times in a 45-minute period. I got up
every two hours to wake him up and offer him some moistened kibble and
pedialyte mix. He ate/drank very little (I don't think he liked the
pedialyte mixture, even though it's unflavored), but at least he didn't get
sick during the night.

Today's x-rays showed an EXTREMELY large spleen. This thing is taking up
practically the entire abdominal cavity! That's probably what's causing his
discomfort and the vomiting. Bloodwork doesn't seem to indicate insulinoma
yet, but the vet hasn't ruled that or other things out just yet. Kidneys
looked good. Barium of the intestines looked good. He prescribed Panmycin
Aquadrops which I'm to give him twice a day for the next ten days to help
fight against any infections that might be starting, even though the blood
work didn't indicate an infection. I was told a lot of stuff and can't
remember most of what the vet said (I'll call them back tomorrow to get
things straight!), but he's hoping the med buys a bit of time before taking
the spleen out. He said it won't be harmful to Brae to remove it, and he'll
be more comfortable once his insides have more room, but unfortunately it
doesn't necessarily mean there isn't another problem that just hasn't shown
up yet in the bloodwork. I think he plans to do bloodwork again, either at
the time of the surgery, or at some point after that. The statement shows
"Anesthesia/gas-IPPV." I read somewhere recently that isoflurane is the
only anesthesia that should be used?

Here are the test results. Because I have no idea what most of this means
(he did go over them with me, but this is all so new to me!), let me know if
you see any red flags:

HCT = 37.7%
HGB = 13.1 g/dl
MCHC = 34.7 g/dl
WBC # 6.3 x109 /L
GRANS # 5.1 x109 /L
% GRANS # 81%
L/M # 1.2 x109 /L
% L/M # 19%
PLT # 568 x109 /L
Retics 0.6%

Buffy Coat (3): Lymph/mono layer has not separated distinctly from the other
cell layers, possibly due to inadequate staining. Confirm differential
results with a blood smear.

ALB = 2.79 g/dl
ALKP = 49 U/L
ALT = 28 U/L
AMYL = 41 U/L
BUN = 11.8 mg/dl
Ca = 7.69 mg/dl
CHOL = 140.6 mg/dl
CREA = 0.33 mg/dl
GLU = 124.1 mg/dl
PHOS = 5.63 mg/dl
TBIL < 0.10 mg/dl
TP = 6.74 g/dl
GLOB = 3.95 g/dl

All in all, I've dropped $250 at the vet at two visits, but Brae still has
this huge spleen inside him, is sleeping all the time, and just isn't doing
well. I hope the Panmycin and removal of the spleen helps, but of course
it's too early to tell. Again, I appreciate any comments if you see any red
flags in the bloodwork or the vet's plan. After I get confirmation from the
vet's office tomorrow, I'll post again to clarify anything I may have stated
incorrectly here today.

Thank you for your time - sorry for the lengthy post!

Debbie


[This message contained attachments]



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Message: 16
From: ferrethealer@a...

In a message dated 09/18/01 11:05:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com writes:


> When she called me with the results she said that two of the three
> were elevated and that we now need to schedule an ultra sound appointment
> to
> find out which is the affected gland. Once that is determined then Cleo
> will
> have it surgically removed or go through the injection treatment. We want
> to
> have it removed so that it is a one time deal and she won't have to get
> frequent injections. Is this how it usually works?

Well, I agree with surgery, but honestly, I would not bother with the
ultrasound unless you also want to have her heart checked. You're planning
surgery anyway - your vet will be able to determine the affected gland (or
glands) at that time. I'd put the money into the surgery, rather than the
ultrasound.

Dr. Ruth
*****************************************
Save lives - spay or neuter your pet.


[This message contained attachments]



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Message: 17
From: katharine <shurcool@i...>

Emma has not had her scent gland removed. Today,
I walked in the house and could smell what could
only be her scent gland. It's the same small as
when she expresses it but very strong. The smell
has continued. A few minutes ago, I went to dig
her out from under the dresser to put her to bed
and the smell was very strong when I walked into
the bedroom.

Could her scent gland be impacted? I don't know
what's causing the strong, continuous smell.
Champ and Blaze both had intact scent glands but I
never smelled them like this. I would only smell
them when they poofed. I've never experienced an
impacted scent gland so I have no clue what the
symptoms would be.

Any and all help is appreciated.

Katharine




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Message: 18
From: "jones" <dodson@t...>

Hello Troy,

Regarding "Honey "broke her back"
My Alfie has a compression and I finally contacted the Washington State
University Vet Teaching School and consulted over the phone. I am sending
Alfie's x-rays with barium contrast and blood levels to Dr. Stauber. He
seemed very informed and even though it is across the state I may take Alfie
if he thinks I should...I don't know where you are but maybe there is a
university like this closer to you...It might be worth a call. I have been
told that if there is deep pain, in the toes (in Alfie's case his back legs
don't work) then there is a chance of recovery. However my baby is only 3
years old. Still he also struggles with incontinence and off and on eating
so I help him quite a bit.

My thoughts are with you and Honey

Good luck, Kathleen




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