Message Number: SG7189 | New FHL Archives Search
From: psitacus@realtimeweb.com
Date: 2003-12-28 03:13:03 UTC
Subject: Bloated ferret-has infected all my others
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <30549415.1072587232994.JavaMail.nobody@vanadium.smartgroups.com>

I bought a ferret 2 weeks ago who was bloated and had soft, seedy poops. He
was 6-7 weeks old and fresh off the plane.

He is active, gaining weight and growing. Fecal exams and cultures are normal.
His temperature is 102 which is what most of my others run at.

His xray showed NOTHING but liquid. NO heart, no lungs, no digestive tract,
just a blur of gook. My vet said if he was a cat, she'd say he had FIP.

We have kept him away from the other ferrets, changing clothes after handling
him, washing well and keeping his bedding and toys seperate from the others.

13 days later my existing group of ferrets ranging from around 9 months down
to around 4 months old are showing signs of problems. Currently several of
them have darker scant poops that are seedy. My vet and I keep thinking this is
ECE however since everyone is still active, eating and happy we are still
questioning what this is. It is obviously highly contagious but what ever it is,
so far it's not hitting anyone hard because they are all normal acting. This sure
leads me to think that ECE isn't the diagnosis though I'm not sure it matters?

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Donna