Message Number: YG12491 | New FHL Archives Search
From: just me
Date: 2002-04-14 19:12:00 UTC
Subject:

Dr. Williams,

Thank you so much for responding.

>An albumin of 2.8 is low normal, and a globulin of 3.0 ishigh
normal. I don't think that this would represent Aleutian Disease,
although we should start thinking about testing all ferrets these
days.

He'll be going for that tomorrow to rule it out.

>My first question would be as to whether Spike has ever had or
possibly been infected with ECE - some of these animals will develop

inflammatory bowel disease over time, and it can result in slightly
abnormal levels.

They weren't diagnosed w/ ECE, but they did have green diarhhea when
I brought them home (I rescued Spike and his sister Buffy from one
of my students who were neglecting them.Their mom called after
having the ferrets for 3 weeks and the boy forgot to feed them 3
days in a row). Before me, they were kept outside in a non-sanitary
cage, w/ little food and water, and virtually no handling. Within in
a month of moving, both Spike and Buffy had gained over a pound and
the greenies went away. There has been occassional greenish stools,
but nothing that is constant. My Fidgit had a pretty bad case of ECE
3 years ago, and this is nothing like that.

Is there any way other than a biopsy to test for inflammatory bowel
disease? Having lost a ferret due to surgical complications, I am
not too keen on opening anyone up if there are alternatives.

>These levels really aren't that bad, so rather than attempt
treatment
(actually, I don't think that amoxi will do anything here), I think
that it is better to watch the stools at this point for a consistent

change, rather than one really nasty one. If one bad looking stool
meant a serious problem - most all of us would be in the hospital!

Should I stop the amoxi, or continue it just to be safe?

He and Buffy are now in separate cages for a few days so that I can
keep track of who is excreting what and exactly how much each is
eating. I am still concerned over his loss of energy. He isn't
lethargic, but he is definitely not himself.

Again, thanks so much for time and response.

Christy and crew