From:
dr_bruce_williams
Date: 2002-02-18 23:05:00 UTC
Subject: Re: concerned about JC
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "renee" <renee@n...> wrote:
> I have posted here before about JC. (As a refresher, JC is a 4 1/2
year old
> spayed female ferret. She has adrenal disease and insulinoma.)
>
> Our vet is a kind man, but unfortunately not ferret-knowledgeable.
He also
> is the only vet in town willing to see sick ferrets. The next
closest
> ferret-knowledgeable vet is over 7 hours away.
>
> Tonight I noticed that JC has blood leaking out of her vulva. Is
this
> common among ferrets with her illnesses or is this something
entirely
> different? She also has several spots that look like blood
blisters on her
> skin. The spots are not raised and about the diameter of a pencil
eraser.
Dear Renee:
It is difficult to tell precisely what is going on, but it is likely
to be one of these two scenarios, and both attendant on the adrenal
disease:
1) We are seeing a vaginitis/stump pyometra from the effects of the
estrogen, which would explain a vaginal discharge. Small rapidly
disappearing bruises are often seen in ferrets with adrenal disease,
and are round and in the size range which you describe.
2) The second, and more serious possibility is that we are starting
to see bone marrow toxicity, an uncommon problem in adrenal ferrets,
and it is manifesting as a lack of platelets. Skin hemorrhage and
hemorrhage in other organs may be seen in this case - a platelet
level in the blood would readily identify this problem, but only
effective adrenal surgery would cure it.
I'm hoping for the first, but it still requires adrenal treatment to
clear it up.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM