From:
"William M. Davidson"
Date: 2002-09-06 15:54:28 UTC
Subject: My ferret
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com (ferrethealth)
Message-Id: <m17nLRE-0011gQC@plato.nmia.com>
I have a 6 or 7 year old ferret named Luigi. He has been healthy up
until last December. First his fur turned white almost overnight and
then he stopped eating. Our vet thought he may have
adrenal gland tumor, pancreas tumor, or kidney disease. Blood sample
was sent to TN for adrenal test. I can't remember what was measured
but the level was slightly elevated above normal high. A local lab
measured blood sugar and it was normal so pancreas disease was ruled
out. The urine was analyzed and was found not diluted so kidney disease
was ruled out. Our vet did exploratory surgery on December 19 and
visually verified what the tests indicated: A small tumor on the
adrenal gland and the kidneys looked clean. However they was a small
tumor on the pancreas. He removed as much of the tumors as possible.
Both tumors were non-malignant. Our vet also removed a fur ball
from Luigi's stomach. After seeing the small tumors and the fur ball,
Our vet suspected that the fur ball was affecting Luigi's appetite
more than the tumors. Luigi had a hard time recovering since he was so
weak for not eating for about a week. By January 5, he was almost
back to his old self and had a very good appetite. We did have a
problem keeping him from chewing on his incision and once he did open
it enough that our vet had to use staples to keep it closed. But
with antibiotics he made a full recover. We also gave Luigi prednisone
to control his blood sugar so that he would keep his appetite.
Since Luigi was doing so well, we reduced the frequency of prednisone
to every three days and then by March we stopped all together. Luigi's
appetite remained strong. So strong in fact, our vet suggested I cut
back on his food. He was over 2.5 lbs. The first week of April, Luigi
was given an injection of Lupron to slow the adrenal gland tumor.
Sometime in May, Luigi's summer coat came in and this time his normal
color came back. A good sign!
Everything looked good until June when he stopped eating again. Once
again the blood test showed normal blood sugar so our vet didn't
think his pancreas tumor was causing problems. The Lupron was
controlling the adrenal tumor so he didn't think that should be the
cause. I thought he may have another fur ball but our vet could
not feel one. He even examined him twice on two different visits and
did not detect a fur ball. I started really looking at Luigi and
noticed new habits. He was grinding his teeth and would frequently
rub his head, chin, and neck on the carpet. This would be done chin
down and also on the both left and right side. He liked to get under
something like a shirt or a paper bag to do the rubbing. When I told
our vet about this he suspected that his esophagus was irritated
from stomach acid. He thought he may have a reflux problem. Our vet
told me to give Luigi a special solution of Pepsid AC. Also, he
gave me a tube of NutriCal so that Luigi would get some nutrition. I
also had to use a syringe to get him to drink water. He did not want
to drink from his bowl. Fortunately, Luigi ate the NutriCal and gained
some energy. After about a week of Pepsid AC, he started nibbling his
normal food and within two weeks he was eating normal amounts of dry
and moist food.
Once again, everything looked good until last week. He reduced his
eating considerably Wednesday and by Friday he wasn't eating or
drinking anything. On Wednesday, I took him to our vet and he
suggested I start the Pepsid AC again. He examined Luigi's mouth for
foreign objects that may irritate his mouth and once again felt for a
fur ball.
On Friday I started giving him NutriCal by hand and water with a
syringe. Another thing I noticed is that Luigi appears to be hungry.
He is eager to come out of his cage for his feedings. He makes a lunge
at my finger with the NutriCal. However, after about two or three
pretty good licks he is ready to get off my lap and grind his teeth and
rub on the floor. I interpret this as saying that the NutriCal causes
pain as it goes down. But after rubbing for awhile, he is ready to
lick more NutriCal. As I said previously, Luigi does not drink water
out of his bowl but he drinks the water very willing when I give it to
him from the syringe. I am starting to get concerned that he has been
on Pepsid AC for almost a week and I don't see any interest with his
normal food. I know he doesn't like old food so I am changing his food
and water twice daily to keep it fresh but he only sniffs it and walks
away. He even rejects his small piece of cantaloupe that he ate
regularly during the last time this happened last June.
Does an esophagus heal slowly? Since we started the Pepsid at the
first indication of an irritation, I thought Luigi would be responding
to treatment quicker. Is there a preventative course that will keep Luigi
from going into these "No Eating" periods?
Do you have other ideas for our vet to investigate?
Sorry this is so long but I thought the history is important.
Thanks for any help you can give!
--
William M. Davidson
grateful@nmia.com
1704 Blume, NE
Albuquerque, NM 87112
505 294 4571
Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't
want, to impress people they don't like. -Will Rogers