From:
jenniferlutton
Date: 2002-05-29 15:15:00 UTC
Subject: Sick ferret - Sudden
I don't want to be an alarmist, and this is an OUTSIDE possibility,
but it could be megaesophagus. It's rare and difficult to diagnose;
you would need xrays, and a barium series would be better. In this
condition the esophagus becomes distended and the normal peristaltic
muscle movement doesn't work. The affected individual can't swallow,
and if you force feed a creature with megaesophagus, he must either
spit the food out or inhale it, which will cause other complications
like pneumonia. Does your ferret seem to swallow sometimes, but then
dribble the food back out? Megaesophagus is seen more frequently in
dogs and sometimes in people. When I encountered it, my vet and I
found only one literature reference about its occurrence in ferrets,
(but not every vet writes papers.) If this unlikely scenario were the
case, the prognosis would be grim, and immediate vet care would be
required.
Jen
jenniferlutton@y...