From:
willowztear@aol.com
Date: 2003-02-22 01:52:20 UTC
Subject: liver infection (?)
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <23776363.1045878740826.JavaMail.root@scandium>
My Tika Blu, about 3 years old, a normally very playful ferret bursting wit=
h energy, started acting "sick" in the past week and a half. First of all, =
I found her sleeping in bottom level of their three level cage - only newsp=
aper down there for bathroom use - they don't go down there for anything el=
se(side note - I found a previous ferret down there who had apparently went=
down there to die from insulinomic complications) - a few times. I noticed=
she was harder to waken than usual. Her appetite seemed down. Luckily, I w=
ork at a vet hospital and took her in. Unfortunately, the vets at my work h=
ave little expertise with ferrets. Tika's spleen was absolutely huge - seem=
ed to get that way in a matter of days (as her symptoms worsened). An ultra=
sound didn't show any significant findings for the cause of the illness or =
enlarged spleen. Bloodwork was all pretty much within normal limits except =
for the liver values which led the doctor to believe it may be a liver infe=
ction. Oh, she had a fever of 104. Apparently she is a little anemic as we=
ll but the doctor couldn't explain the exact reason. At the vet visit she h=
ad a rapid heart and respiration rate (also noted at home). In fact, she br=
eathes so hard and fast sometimes I am worried she is about to take her las=
t breath. I don't know if the extremely enlarged spleen is causing this dif=
ficulty or the pain is causing the increase in rate. =
Tika has a good appetite when brought to food and is having normal urine/bm=
functions. She is getting baytril and "pet tinic" (dietary supplement with=
iron to help with the anemia -oh, also, tests showed she is regenerating n=
ew RBC's) with added metronidazole. =
Thing is, I am absolutely paranoid this huge spleen of hers ( you can easil=
y feel it from one side of her to the other even when she is laying on her =
stomach) will rupture. Is this likely? What do I watch for? Can this interf=
ere with her breathing enough for her to have respiratory arrest? Removing =
the spleen was mentioned by the doctor but she wants to see how Tika reacts=
to the treatment first. =
Professional guidance or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated=
.=
=