Message Number: YG12663 | New FHL Archives Search
From: miamiferret
Date: 2002-04-21 12:58:00 UTC
Subject: 5 mg Tapazole for a ferret?

Someone has contacted me about their sick ferret. I don't have too
many specifics other than he has been "very sick" for the past couple
weeks and she has been force feeding him. A swollen spleen is
present and her vet says he needs adrenal surgery.

What really concerns me is that her vet has prescribed 5 mg of
Tapazole (methimazole) daily for him. I have not heard of
hyperthyroidism in a ferret and there's no indication that this has
been diagnosed by a T4 test. Besides, even if that were the case, 5
mg seems like an awful lot for a 2 pound ferret. I had a
hyperthyroid 15 pound cat that eventually received that much Tapazole
and we did repeated T4 tests to adjust that dosage.

Would there be any other reason to give Tapazole other than for
management of hyperthyroidism?