From:
drew7967@aol.com
Date: 2003-05-09 22:40:09 UTC
Subject: RE: Paralyzed ferret
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <605950.1052521288270.JavaMail.nobody@magnesium>
Thanks to Amy for posting this for me. Marie is a 16 week old ferret who
always had some dizziness. She would walk wobbly and bounce off things.
Being new ferret owners we thought maybe this was normal. We got her when
she was aprox 10 weeks old. We kept her for a week and then returned her to
the pet store because she was having trouble walking and we wanted them to
have her checked out. We have since found out that they kept her for two
weeks and did no tests on her. She was given fluids and antibiotics only. We
were told then that she had an intestinal infection. She seemed fine when we
got her back. She was still wobbly and we still figured this must be normal.
On Tuesday morning when we woke up Marie was in her hammock stiff as a
board. We took her to the vet. They did x-rays which showed no
abnormalities. They did tests for every common ferret illness and they all
returned negative. Tuesday night, Marie would not eat or drink and responded
to nothing. She was given steroids and antibiotics. The vet's guess is
something neurological. They are unsure if it could be congenital or from
some head trauma. They even said she could have been exposed to some
chemical before we got her. All of that is unknown. I know she had no trauma
and no exposure to anything dangerous while with us.
Wednesday morning the vet called to say that she was eating hungrily and
drinking water. She could even hold her head up for short periods. This was
with the help of a syringe. We brought her home and have continued to give
her steroids and antibiotics. We are feeding her several times a day. She never
turns the food away-until she is full! She is urinating frequently and is having
several bowel movements a day. She does lift her tail and roll around just
before she goes to the bathroom. Her body has been very stiff and she always
curls to one side. It's as if her muscles want to stay put in one position. I
started massaging her limbs and helping her to stretch out and put pressure
on her arms and legs. We let her see our other ferret and she responded by
trying to move her arms as if to crawl.
While writing this message, I heard my daughter yelling for me. When I went
upstairs Marie was turning herself in circles. Then she had a bowel movement!
I saw her arms and legs moving!! That felt so good! By watching her it seems
like she responds to internal clues for eating and using the bathroom but
doesn't move her legs or arms unless this is happening. It's almost as if her
muscles are stiff. She is shaking some, but I can't tell if it's when she is excited
or upset!
Any ideas or comments would be greatly appreciated. It is sad to see her this
way. Her mind seems there but her body won't work.
Sandy