From:
shayrobison@hotmail.com
Date: 2005-01-03 20:46:42 UTC
Subject: RE: Seizure or ear problems?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <25840096.1104785588529.JavaMail.nobody@vanadium.smartgroups.com>
Hi Tara - I just took my ferret to the doctor's this morning for for all the same
reasons. For a couple days now my ferret has been very disoriented. When I let him
out of the cage he walks with his head tilted toward the ground. He easily loses his
balance and quite often falls in his own litter box. A good place to start is online
searching for: head tilt, wry neck and vestibular diseases. Since my ferret recently
had to fight stomach ulcers - I thought it might be related - but I am not sure. The
doctor prescribed an antibiotic (because of his diarrhea), and another med I am not
sure of at this time, but I can check for you when I get home.
We're not sure why this is happening - but I suspect it is related to the ulcers that
he was treated for in late October. He has also developed red spots on his belly ...
have you seen this in your ferret? I suspect he is allergic to the wipes that I have
been using since I need to constanlty clean him up.
I too thought it as an inner ear infection - or something similar. He still responds to
his name and familiar sounds - so I don't think he has any hearing loss.
I ruled out Hypothyroidism because he eats, drinks and plays like a champ.
I had a ferret once that experienced a stroke, and some of the behaviors were
similiar - so I thought it could have been a mild stroke - but the more I read - I
think it is related to FIP/ECE/Coccidia which would explain the runny stool. It is
strange however that I have 4 other ferrets and they are not experiencing any
symptons of a bacterial infection.
If I learn anything else from my vet this evening I will keep you posted.
Shannon
[Moderator's Note: true strokes have not been documented in ferrets but
thromboses (thrown clots) have been. Some common causes include cardiac
problems, lymphoma/lyphosarcoma, kidney disease. If one of these goes to the
brain it can look like a stroke; they can land in a number of locations in the body,
causing symptoms from whichever area winds up starved for blood flow.]