From:
scobe1999@aol.com
Date: 2002-08-21 17:40:35 UTC
Subject: ECE , IBD, enlarged Spleen & Pepto-Bismol
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <26365341.1029951635578.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Hello all
I have a little girl who is about 3yrs old, beautiful bright white Albino n=
amed Fric. She had a VERY severe case of ECE back in May. It took about 2 w=
ks for her to return to normal. She did recover though and since then has =
had her "good days" and
"bad days". Which my vet told me would probable be the case for quite a wh=
ile. She goes a week sometimes 2 w/o issues, eats and drink well on her ow=
n but then she will have a set back for couples days. On those days she ge=
ts feed chicken baby food and 2cc of Pepto-Bismol/Nuit-Cal/Ferritone cockta=
il twice a day (which she loves) and she will be normal again in a day or 2=
day. During her bad days, it is really just her poo that is bad. She NEVER=
seems to loose energy(hehehe lucky me) or her appetite. Besides my feeding=
her, she eats very well on her own. She has actually managed to put weigh=
t back on and now weights more then she did before she got sick and looks w=
onderful :o) Well last week she had a bad day on Monday by Thursday, still =
no good poo, I was starting to get I little concerned, her tummy looked a l=
ittle swollen on Thursday night. Well Friday morning no solid poo and I not=
ice a blueish spot on her tummy so off to the vet we went. And of course on=
the way to the vet....she had a "soft" but formed poo!!! My vets office ha=
s 2 vets, the one that I usually see was not there so she saw the other vet=
. At first it was kind of funny because she asked why we were there because=
there did not seem to be absolutely anything wrong with her :o) She looked=
at her tummy area, and saw the "spot" wet her fur down to take a look. Sh=
e said the mark was "under the skin" and more then likely her spleen, and i=
t was a bit enlarged. Which would not be all that uncommon when a ferret i=
s fighting a disease. She attempted to give her an anti-biotic (I feel lik=
e an idiot because I can not remember the name.. think is was something wit=
h and M..it was vanilla flavored. it also comes in tuti-fruit which they we=
re out of) Anyway, she WOULD NOT take it. They tried to mix it, no go, scru=
ff her, no go, medicine shower anyone hehehehe, finally the vet scuffed Fri=
c putting on her back, down the vets arm and they got it in her. They put =
her down and 15 secs. later she threw it, as well as some food she had eate=
n earlier, up. So that medicine was out. The vet debated for a min about =
putting her on amoxicillion (which is what she was on back in May) but then=
she decided that I should just keep treating her as I am (baby food, and P=
epto) and let her ride it out for a few days. If the spot did not go away b=
y Monday / Tuesday, to bring her back. This concerned me a bit, so I asked=
her what about IBD? I was told that IBD is usually accompanied by weight =
loss, a sore "back end" and other symptoms and she does not have any of the=
se. So I took her word for it and we left. The spot was gone by Sat after=
noon :o) and I continued the Pepto until Monday. Yesterday (Tuesday) she w=
as runny again. Put her back on Pepto and she if fine. I guess my concer=
n is does anyone know if long term use of Pepto will do any damage? And wh=
at about the spleen thing, being enlarged when ill, is this normal? I do n=
ot mean to doubt the vet. I am just concern because in doing tons of readi=
ng on ECE and IBD because I have had 4 that contracted ECE due to my lack o=
f knowledge. I do not ever recall anything about the spleen being enlarged.=
I may have missed it but still, I just want to be sure. Also just a littl=
e more info...she has mild hair lose on her tail, but at this time no signs=
of adrenal, the hair comes and goes. Regular vet say we will just keep an=
eye on, it could be early signs. In mid July she/we lost her cage mate. S=
he lost a lot of hair on her tail right after that. Again, still no positi=
ve signs of adrenal at this time. She did seem lost/depressed as we all we=
re for a week or so after. But then bounced back (I mean literally bounced,=
she is a big time weasel dancer hehehe) but the hair has not yet come bac=
k. So I don=92t know if that has any bearing. Sorry for the long post, b=
ut I wanted to give as much info as possible, and any comments, experience =
or advice is more than welcome. My vet rules, no doubt, but other info can=
never hurt and may help. Thanks so very much. Cuddle your fuzzies
Brenda and the monsters Fric, Tic, Tac, Toe and my ferret angel Frac :o) =
=