From:
pjdutche@email.unc.edu
Date: 2003-03-03 17:22:58 UTC
Subject: RE: ECE is a drag!
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <506576.1046712178162.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Author wrote:
<< 1. Bumble is only 6 months old, and is very bouncy compared to the two sickos- I have not been around any other ferrets aside from him and my own for months, so I assume he brought ECE to the house. I am confused about how he can be so healthy- he is a little chubby, and shows no sign of being or having been sick recently- so could he have an immunity to ECE but be a carrier? >>
I think you're on the right track. ECE in young ferrets, especially kits, is often very mild and might barely be a blip on the radar screen. Some of them never show signs at all. Then they do indeed carry the virus and can pass it along for a long period of time, certainly 6 months is no stretch.
<< 2. As I mentioned, we have one other ferret who is not sick, Goku. We are sort of assuming that he also had ECE in the past, although, again, we are watching him for signs of the green poop or general malaise. >>
Good plan... As you said, he may have already had it. However, I've occasionally read of cases where ECE took some time to move through all ferrets in a household. Certainly it's more typical for all unexposed ferrets to get ill very quickily and at the same time, but sometimes, there are stragglers. And who knows, maybe there are times when unexposed ferrets never get it at all for whatever reason (very few things are 100%, although ECE is surely one of the most contagious viruses out there).
<< Again, I have asked our vet these questions, but I thought I'd get a second opinion. Oh, also- he recommends feeding baby food for the next few days- but Jet wasn't thrilled about just the baby food, so I mixed up some gruel with water, baby food and mushed-up kibble, and Jet ate it up- will this be too irritating for her? >>
Meat baby food is best, since it's bland and very easily digested, but one of the keys is also to avoid stress. If she is eating the mix willingly, staying hydrated, having improving poops, and not losing weight, I'd say stick with it - sounds like a pretty good mix. If she's backsliding or not improving on the mix, then try to increase the baby food portion and work with her on finger feeding in a nonstressful manner. If it comes to it, just give her one taste of the baby food every few hours rather than a long session of force-feeding - don't make a big deal of it - and she may well acquire the taste as most ferrets do. Sometimes force-feeding is needed, but it sounds like she's doing pretty well, really, so I'd go the "avoid stress" route personally.
In case you haven't seen it yet, Dr. Williams has a fabulous web page about ECE:
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/ECE/ECE.html
Good luck and best wishes!
-Pam S.