From:
katharine
Date: 2002-02-02 09:33:00 UTC
Subject: VET QUESTIONS - URGENT
Necropsies: Bodies should be stored in the
refrigerator. Freezing causes the tissue to
deteriorate, i.e. it is ruined. The necropsy
should be done as quickly as possible. If one
dies at home, my suggestion would be to get it to
the place where it's to be necropsied immediately,
if possible. At best, refrigerate it overnight
and then transport first thing in the morning. I
suspect you are way past the time to have an
effective necropsy done. I'm not sure whether
blood would still be viable at this point.
Drugs: I am certainly no vet or pharmacist but I
can give you the information I have on these drugs
from The Willowbrook Wildlife Center
Pharmaceutical Index. Of course, a necropsy
should also show if any drug overdoses have
occurred, through bloodwork (I think).
Clindamycin Hydrochloride Oral Liquid:
Pharmacology: A lincosamide antibiotic that may be
bacteriostatic or bactericidal depending on the
organism and the drug concentration. Mechanism of
action is due to inhibition of peptide bond
formation.
Forms: Capsules 25, 75 and 150 mg
Oral Liquid 25 mg/ml
Indications: Soft tissue wounds, abscesses and
osteomyelitis, particularly due to Staphylococcus
aureas and anaerobic bacteria. Effective against
Toxplasma.
Contraindications: Rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs,
horses and ruminants may experince fatal GI side
effects.
Dosages:
Mammals - 5-10 mg/kg PO BID
(Note: also includes dosages fo birds and
reptiles)
Comments: Clindamycin is better absorbed, more
active and less toxic although lincomycin is
slightly cheaper.
(My note: in the contraindications, it does NOT
include mustelids)
Lopermide 10 mg in 20 ml nac
Actually, this is probably Loperamide. It is
Imodium-AD. No further comment necessary other
than...
Contraindications: Diarrheal disease caused by
enteric bacteris such as Salmonella.
Dosage:
Mammals: 0.1-0.2 mg/kg PO BID and TID
I don't know if this information is of any help or
not. I'm afraid that it's going to be too late to
find out what really happened to your babies. On
another List, I noticed several people
recommending that you sue for malpractice. I
don't think you have a chance since a necropsy was
not done. You have no cause of death. You have
no proof that anything was done to kill or harm
your babies. Sometimes, things just happen and
it's no one's fault. Taking legal action just
drags out the pain, unless you know you have a
good sound basis to sue. BTW, I am not an
attorney. This is just my personal opinion.
Since you don't know the cause of death, I
certainly would consider waiting a number of
months before bringing ferrets into your house
again, in the event they succumbed to something
contagious, which could linger for some time.
My condolences.
Katharine