From:
"Lisa Oestereich"
Date: 2004-08-30 20:07:47 UTC
Subject: RE: [ferrethealth] ferret coughing
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <27978063.1093899007873.JavaMail.nobody@magnesium.smartgroups.com>
My Scooby had a cough for MONTHS (approx March to September) and I kept
taking him to the vet and they couldn't find anything. X-rays, G.I.
series, various antibiotics, bloodwork. It sounded like he had a huge
hairball or something - kind of "flemmy". But nothing abnormal showed
up on anything. Turns out, after Scooby died from Lymphoma, his body
was sent to Virginia Tech for a full autopsy and they found he had
T.B!!! I'm not saying that anybody else's ferret has TB, but I have to
say I was a little shocked when I heard the news and wondered how
prevalent it is in ferrets (and I'm wondering if it's more so in ferrets
that go outside on walks) and if we're just missing it because not many
people do that detailed of an autopsy (my vet taught a class at VA Tech
and brought Scooby's body down for the "extreme autopsy". His daughter
(a member of the class) made sure I got the results because she knew me
and Scooby). I believe Dr. Williams says that TB is "omnipresent" in
the outdoors and can lay dormant until other problems arise. Scooby had
both adrenals out but, years later, died of lymphoma.
Just thought I'd throw my two cents in.
Lisa