Fhl

From: "Sue Liszewski"
Date: 2004-01-23 08:57:35 UTC
Subject: RE: [ferrethealth] fert mass in mesentary, vet unsure, help...
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <Law12-F96qFCaI9NxyD0001b562@hotmail.com>

These needed to be biopsied. Another thing I wonder is if he had anything in
the stomach lke a fur ball. Any times the stomach lymph nodes and the
mesenteric kymph nodes become enlarged secondary to other things. If this is
not the case then I would consider lymphoma and at least try him on pred
sonce no biopsies were taken. Any chance you can get him to a vet more
knowledgable in ferrets even a vet school might do it they have an exotics
dept. Hopw this helps but I would be concerned with the findings you
report. I have had ferrets lose half their body weight from a fur ball
before diagnosis and removal and they improved once the problem was
corrected. I would like to se a more accurate diagnosis. Good Luck.'

Dr. Sue

>From: slouisea@hotmail.com
>Reply-To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
>To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
>Subject: [ferrethealth] fert mass in mesentary, vet unsure, help...
>Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 16:53:38 +0000 (GMT)
>
>
>[Moderator's note: This is a new discussion appearing as a grouping of two
>pers. coms. as a post which the author had with an FHK member. The reply
>of
>the FHL memeber is not present because permission of the author was not
>received in time to do so.]
>
>
>Hello!
>I hope you are able to respond to this email. I am writing from New
>Brunswick,
>Canada. I am a ferret lover as well but my love for them is fairly recent
>in
>comparison to yours! I have three ferrets, 2 males (Hobs and Stuart) and 1
>female (little girl). My ferret Hobs has been sick lately and I have taken
>him to
>the vet many times. Unfortunately, ferrets as pets are a new phenomenon
>here
>in Canada and the local vets have very little information on diagnosis. I
>am
>hoping that with the number of problems you have incurred you might be able
>to offer some suggestions. So here is Hobs' story:
>A little over a month ago I noticed that his poops were different than
>usual.
>They were grainy in nature and he appeared to be losing weight. I brought
>him
>to the vet immediately and they performed a couple x-rays. They were unable
>to make any conclusions so they suggested an ultrasound. With the
>ultrasound
>they said that they spotted some kind of small mass but that they would
>have
>to do an exploratory surgery to find out additional information. We
>scheduled
>the surgery for a week later. I was very nervous for my little Hobs as he
>is the
>oldest. (2 1/2 years). When they went inside they discovered two masses
>located in his mesentary. One of them was larger than the other but neither
>were described as "huge". They also said that his stomach appeared
>inflammed
>and his lymph nodes swollen. He recovered very well from surgery and was
>soon back on his feet. A month after surgery (just this past weekend) he
>visited
>the vet again so that he could feel the masses and see if they had grown.
>The
>vet said they felt as if they had become smaller...BUT when he was weighed
>they discovered that he was 4.4lbs (2kg) at surgery and now only 2.2 lbs
>(1kg).
>The vet said that the decrease in size of the mass could be due to all of
>the fat
>loss. He asked us to closely monitor his eating and his weight every week.
>I am
>very scared and not sure what to do about the situation. I am not 100%
>confident in our vet as this is one of the first ferrets he has treated for
>something serious and unknown. He thought that maybe he was allergic to
>something but from my information on ferrets it seems more serious than
>that.
>I am sorry that my story was so long. I hope that you can offer me any
>information that you have. Thank you so much for your time and I look
>forward
>to hearing from you.
>Sincerely,
>Sarah Anglehart
>CANADA
>
>
>Thanks for replying so quickly!
>Here are some answers to your questions...
>
>Hobs is considered almost underweight now according to Kim Shillings book,
>Ferrets for Dummies. A typical unaltered male is usually 2-3 1/2lbs. and my
>Hobs is just barely in the normal range. I can see his bones around the
>hips
>which I never used to be able to see before. It is cold here and he should
>have
>been putting on his winter weight but instead he was losing. His fur also
>is
>degrading. It isn't as shiny and looks almost brittle. He is continuing to
>eat well
>which is strange. He is on Living World Premium Ferret Food. It's a kibble
>that
>has the most protein of all the foods available here (38%)
>
>Hobs was not fat before but looked of normal size. Hobs was losing weight
>before surgery...I noticed in about a week he looked skinnier and then
>after
>surgery until now (about a month) he lost the 2 lbs. 2lbs in a month is a
>LOT of
>weight for a ferret. I can contribute some of the weight loss to his
>recouperation from the surgery but not 2 full lbs.
>
>The masses they found were near or in the mesentary. They were unable to be
>removed or biopsied because the vet said that it was too sensitive and
>dangerous of a surgery with all the main veins that were present. He said
>that
>they could be felt in his midbelly area near the back of his body near the
>backbone.
>
>After his surgery the vet did not put him on any antibiotics so he has not
>been
>on any medication at all. His wound from the surgery healed very well and
>his
>fur is growing back in.
>
>Thanks for all your information so far and the links. I'll be looking at
>the info to
>see what I can find. Let me know if you have any speculations as to what my
>poor little Hobs could have.
>
>Sarah
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>--
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>visit http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
>
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