From:
Moxie
Date: 2002-01-23 01:22:00 UTC
Subject: bacitracin and Chance update
Dr. Williams wrote: "I am unfamiliar with bacitracin toxicity in the
ferret. Oral dosing
of rats with bacitracin may lead to life-threatening bacterial
overgrowth in the intestine, and it may cause contact dermatitis in
humans, but I have not previosuly seen any documented cases of toxicosis
in ferrets. Neomycin, which is used with bacitracin and polymyxin in the
ointment Neosporin, may cause hearing damage or even renal diseas if
ingested in large qualitites. Any more information which you could shed
on this case would be enlightening...."
Dear Dr. Williams, I will contact the shelter operator who wrote the
article for more info.
Chance is recovering very slowly after pancreas surgery. He is now on
Carafate and I will probably have my vet treat for an ulcer on our next
visit. His blood sugar was 134 yesterday so it has gone down
considerably. He is still very sleepy and weak on his feet, although he
makes it into the litter box and out. He still feels crummy and has to
be persuaded to eat his soup. I hope I see some improvement within the
next couple of days. The surgery really took a toll on him and I would
advise others who are contemplating insulinoma surgery to be fully
prepared for when the little one comes home, i.e., having a blood
glucose home test kit (Freestyle brand is good) and urine test strips,
as the ferret can become diabetic after surgery as Chance did. It was
easier to monitor his sugar at home, especially when my vet is 40
minutes away. You will have to continue to monitor the blood sugar on a
regular basis. I just email my vet daily with updates. Thanks for your
concern and for answering my insulinoma questions, and I thank others on
the list, especially Pam, who has been truly wonderful.
Moxie and Chance