From:
mjdragon23@nc.rr.com
Date: 2005-02-12 21:20:31 UTC
Subject: Need help/advice-ferret with hind leg weakness
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <1457729.1108243231967.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
I am having a problem with my ferret Lancelot, who is about 2.5 years old. On Thursday, 2/10 it began with him being slightly lethargic; he's normally very active but did not want to play. I decided to keep an eye on him and when I came home from work Friday 2/11 he refused to come out of the cage. I pulled him out and as soon as he tried to walk his back legs buckled underneath him. He tried to walk, but his back legs just seemed to give out and he just wobbled and fell over.
I rushed him immediently to the vet. They did xrays and told me, as best as I can explain it, that the back portion of his spine seemed irregular. He should have spaces between the vertebrae, but these spaces seemed to be disappearing in the lower vertebrae, which indicated some type of spinal inflammation. To my knowledge, he has not had any type of fall, they are only let out in the ferret room when I am in the room with them, they are under constant supervision. Unless something happened to him in the cage when I was not home, he has not had any type of damage that I know of.
The vet gave him a shot of dexamethasone and basically said that if that didn't help I'd need to find a specialist. I also checked his glucose level at home and the meter read 96 so that seems to be normal. However, he has not improved. He is more alert today, but the back leg weakness seems to be getting worse. I am feeding him his gravy mix to make sure that he is eating as well.
I am planning on taking him to a different vet on Monday..everything here is closed until then, but was hoping for some advice/help until that time.