From:
daneedv.aol.com
Date: 2002-07-03 00:14:43 UTC
Subject: What can I do to build up red blood cells?
Author wrote:
> I took Snowball to the vet with a huge spleen. She said this time he is
> very anemic. She put him on pet tinic. What else can I do for my little
> guy?
How anemic is "very anemic"? If he is critical, then a blood transfusion may be what is needed. ALso, is he making new red cells and just not enough? Does your vet know why he is anemic? These kinds of questions need to be answered to know the best way to proceed.
I am not a vet, but have had ferrets that were anemic for various reasons. Generally, I have not found Pet Tinic to be very effective in helping if there is some medical reason that the ferret's body is not producing enough red cells.
Currently, I have a ferret, Hershey, who is having problems with anemia due to early stages of renal failure due to ADV. In Feb. we started him on injections of Procrit, and the results have been amazing. His red cell count zoomed from very low (23) to very high (54) in just 2 weeks. We backed way off on the dose, and he has stabilized at around 45. He gets an injection once every 2 weeks.
Many vets do not have Procrit on hand, and need to order it. It is expensive for the vial, also, but a little bit goes a long way. At first my vet was a little hesitant to try it, but once I talked him into it, he is glad we tried. It has been so successful with Hershey, that he is now using it with some of his other patients. Another drug that does the same thing is Epogen. Procrit and Epogen are not usually helpful if the anemia is hormone induced (or so I have been told), but otherwise seem to be very good at encouraging the body to produce red blood cells.
Danee