From:
skyflyer1263@yahoo.com
Date: 2003-05-27 04:12:16 UTC
Subject: abcess in baby ferret??
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <4076574.1054008736476.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Hi Everyone,
I am having a very scary health problem with my baby ferret Holly. She is only 3 months old and until yesterday was fine. Yesterday morning she was fine, eating and drinking ok. Last night when I came home, I heard a small whimpering sound from her cage. I have one other ferret that is an older ferret but the two get along great and never fight. I picked her up and she was lethargic and extremely warm and as I was holding her, I felt a lump about an inch long and an inch wide near her right chest/arm area. Because it was a Sunday night and holiday weekend, my regular vet was closed; So I took Holly to the emergency center recommended by my vets place.
The vet took her temp and said it was 105 (he told me the norm is 102.5) and I had no idea that their norm was that high. He felt the lump and there was no sign of any visible injury or puncture wound. He gave her fluids sub-q and then put a needle into the lump to try and drain it. He said he thought it was a swollen lymph node. So he was able to remove a little fluid and he said it was a little bloody. He looked at it under the microscope and said it was mostly neutrophils but no bacteria noted.
He gave me clavamox (.1ml- 2X a day)for her. He said because he wasn't a ferret specialist that I could leave her but he honestly wasn't sure if they would be able to get an IV into her. So I took her home last night and she was and continues to drink pretty well and eat well on her own when she is awake. But she is still like a limp rag doll when I pick her up. This morning I gave her duck soup which she ate some and she drank a good amount of water. Her stool is looking normal and she is urinating as normal as I can tell. She still feels warm to me but nothing like last night. She ate a little dry food tonight and took her medication twice today. I have been giving her extra fluids to drink with the medicine syringe also.
Tomorrow I am going to take her to my vet that specializes in little animals only, no dogs and cats. But in the meantime, I am afraid of what could be wrong and if there is anything else I can do for her. I can't believe how limp she is. Her eyes follow me, so she looks alert in that way but her body just feels like she is so weak. I haven't read anything about ferrets getting abcesses, so I don't know what else to do or can't imagine what this can be. I hope my vet can help her but if anyone has any advice or has experienced anything like this with their ferrets, I would be grateful for some advice. Thank you so much, sincerely, Margaret