From:
Leslie Cucino
Date: 2005-03-09 23:24:02 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] DIM question
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <BE54FDD1.B21%Harley1369@cox.net>
Hi Serena,
There is no known cause that's carved in concrete, there is no known cure
although the teams researching it I believe are making headway with chemo
drugs. Any ferret can catch it, it does not only affect the young, my ferret
was 2 years old when he died from it. I have heard of a 4 year old that died
from DIM. The health alert to my understanding is being updated to include
this new information. It does not always involve the lymphnodes, my ferret
had no lymphnode involvment at all nnor skin lesions as the alert mentions.
My ferret was NOT from Marshall Farms.
In my case there was no 'sudden onset' of symptoms. He had green diarrhea on
and off for a week, he was hospitalized and treated for severe ECE by an
inexperienced vet. Two weeks later he was correctly diagnosed with DIM and
survived two months until his heart gave out.
There is nothing you can do to prevent it, and very little that can be done
to help a ferret survive. That's not to say that anyone who has this
diagnosis should give up! Have your vet contact the teams researching the
disease. Through trial and error they will find the cause, hopefully a cure,
if not a vaccine.
Don't avoid adding new fuzzies because of fear. If it's going to happen, it
will happen. It doesn't appear to be contagious but if you want to increase
your family, why deny yourself that? We had four when mine died, leaving us
with three, we now have eight and love them all as much as we can in the
time that they have.
Leslie
& Shelby, Saide, Sparky, Nibbles, Rocky the Rescue, Little One, Patches and
Ruby...the aloof cat Smokey, neurotic dogs Mickey & Buddy and a partridge in
a pear tree :-) Missing Whitey :-(
on 3/9/05 5:53 PM, ferretface@aol.com at ferretface@aol.com wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I've had ferrets for many years. Babies, rescues, drop offs at my front door.
> I thought aleutians was scary when it first popped up (I won't even mention
> ECE) but now there's DIM.
>
> My question is now-a-days w/ DIM how do we go about integrating ferrets? I
> mean, from what I understand it can just happen out of the blue. I worry about
> this bec. I know somewhere down the line I'll want another baby in the house
> and I want to make sure I wait long enough to introduce him/her to the others
> but we don't even know how long long enogh is--do we? Also, is it like ECE in
> the way that they can be carriers but asymptomatic? I know it seems to be in
> young ferrets, does this mean older ones can't get it? or are they more
> susceptible bec. they are older? UUUGGGGHHH! Oh, one more...is it only in
> mass bred ferrets? (ie Marshall Farms) OK, I guess that's it. I know it's a
> new disease and not much is known about the etiology but I thought I'd ask
> just in case...
>
> Thanks, Serena
>
>
>
>
>
>
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