From:
sukieferret
Date: 2002-04-17 21:10:00 UTC
Subject: Re: DEATH OF MULTIPLE FERRETS - BORIC ACID
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "Roger Vaughn" <rvaughn@p...>
wrote:
> Oh, absolutely. Boric acid and Borax are NOT safe for use
> around pets. While considered one of the "safer" insecticides
> around humans, ingestion of the stuff is very dangerous and
can cause severe gastrointestinal distress, seizures, and kidney
>failure.
>
> I can't say this is what killed those ferrets, but it is a very likely
> suspect.
>
A reference we have here says that it is toxic to all cells with the
effect on the organ dependent on the concentration in that organ.
With humans the principal manifestations are: skin excoriations
(abrasions), fever, and anuria (suppression or stopping of
urinary output).
In humans it says that acute poisoning canbe from ingestion,
skin absorption, or mucus membrane absorption, and people
then show vomiting and diarrehea, skin problems, lethargy,
twithcing followeed by convultions, jaundice, kidney damage, etc.
More slow poisoning causes weight loss, loss of apetite,
vomiting and diarrhea, rash, hair loss, convulsions, adn anemia
in people.
Don't know if those symptoms hold for ferrets.
I do not have current medical treatment routines for it in my refs,
but if you look in the bookmarks and resources the animal
poisoning info numbers are there so that any other ferrets there
which have survived can be treated.
Scary how many things can be dangerous; resources such as
books on poisoning are handy for avoiding those dangers. If you
d asked me about boric acid before I had such a book I'd have
thought it was safe, given my college experiences.