From:
myzoo8
Date: 2002-06-02 13:57:00 UTC
Subject: new to the list, old ferret
Hi, I'm new and was hoping someone could answer some concerns I have.
We adopted 2 ferrets about 2 years ago. Now the female is about 3 and
the male is about 7 years old. The male has been in poor health for
about a year now. He eats, but still looks like a skeleton (problem
#1). And lately he keeps urinating in his hammock(problem #2) and is
losing his hair from the urinic acid. I wash his hammock every few
days, but it's not helping.
About 6 months ago I brought him to the vet because he had lost
almost all his hair. At the time that was the only symptom that we
saw. The vet said it was mange! I don't think he knew what he was
talking about, it was NOT mange.
Is all of this just from "old age"? We call him the little old man
now because that's what he looks like.
Well, he was better for a while and now this morning I found him
upside down hanging half way out of his hammock. I though he was
dead! He had poop matted all over him and his hammock. (that was not
there last night!) I took him out and washed him off and he started
pooping some more and it looked like thick motor oil!(#3) Even his
urine, or what I assumed was urine, it was yellow mucousy stuff
coming out of his penis(#4), but it was thick too! He was extremely
dehydrated, even though he can reach the water bottle from his
hammock.
I'm a wildlife rehabber so I subQ'ed him with the 5cc of LRS that I
had on hand (that's all I had) and syringe fed him a bit of baby
opossum formula. It's made of kitten formula and kitten chow and
different vits and minerals. Thought that couldn't hurt, he's having
abdomible problems so didn't want to let him eat his hard food. I
also gave him a bit of Nutri-Cal. Right now he's sleeping on a
heating pad, but I'm worried. He can't even walk normally he keeps
falling down (hind end seems weak).
I love my new vet, but there's not alot of ferrets in our area, any
suggestions that I could tell him to test for or look for? Or
suggestions to point him in a certain direction?
Thanks,
Donna