From:
Kane, Kristen
Date: 2001-11-28 14:17:00 UTC
Subject: WEIGHT LOSS AND CHRONIC DIARRHEA
My ferret Haplo has had chronic diarrhea going on 7 months now. He is a 4
year old male sable. I have brought him to the vets and he was given a blood
test and a fecal exam which both came up inconclusive. He was treated with
Omoxicillan and prednisone another drug commonly used in ferrets for gastric
ulcers. He was also given an IV for his dehydration and stayed overnight at
the hospital. He came home to me in a little better condition, but he has
been steadily worsening since his initial visit. He has lost a lot of weight
and is lethargic. I was told to give him pedialyte, and last night I gave it
to him for the first time. He drank an entire tea cup full out of a medicine
dropper. I didn't know how much to give him, so I let him drink as much as
he wanted. I also was recommended Gerber baby food to feed him to help him
put back some of the weight he has lost. The medical bills are getting out
of hand between his pricey visit and the bills I have left over from my
fuzzy friend Nikkita who passed away in September from Adrenal cancer. Haplo
is wasting away like Nikkita and has the same lethargic manner, but does not
have the extensive hair loss Nikkita had. My neighbors have lost 2 ferrets
in the past 2 years from adrenal and one from lymphoma. They had surgery on
both ferrets and they ended up dying anyway. They are left with thousands of
dollars of bills and don't even have their furry friends as a result. I do
not feel comfortable with bringing Haplo there. They happen to be the only
place I know of in this area who treat ferrets. I also recall them saying
that his lymph nods felt normal, not enlarged. Does anyone have any idea as
to what is going on? If I can give him pedialyte to help, how much is too
much? And if there are any vets in the Quincy/Boston MA area who are good
ferret vets that can be trusted. I don't mind paying the bills if I feel
confident that the vet is knowledgeable and my friend has a chance to
recover. I have read all the descriptions of the common diseases and I cant
figure it out. What other tests should I ask for? If anyone has any
suggestions, information or recommendations please help! I am running out of
time.