Message Number: SG14461 | New FHL Archives Search
From: sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-06-22 16:30:42 UTC
Subject: RE: Hind legs paralysis? Help needed.
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <8341461.1119457842490.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>

Hind leg weakness can be caused by a wide range of illnesses in the ferrets. Pretty much anything that makes them very ill will cause it.

One of the most common causes is insulinoma and five years of age is a pretty typical age for it to start in those ferrets who get it. Your vet can check your ferret's blood sugar. This article is an excellent introduction to insulinoma:
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/PDF/insulinoma.pdf

In fact, your vet can check your ferret's blood for a range of health measures by doing a CBC with Chemistry Panel. You and your veterianrian can learn more about these tests when done for ferrets in
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/Clin_Path/ClinPath.html
and
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/PDF/10_steps.pdf
and
http://miamiferret.org/fhc/physiology.htm
(with the American notation) -- I don't know which notations are used in Italy)

As I said, anything that causes weakness in a ferret can cause weakness so your vet may want to image the ferret's chest. An x-ray can find dilative cardiomyopathy but often can not find hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. An ultrasound is optimal for both forms and for designing treatment protocol. If there is cardiomyopathy I suggest going to
http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/ferrethealth/cardiomyopathy.txt
and
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org

So, while an injury is possible (and the injection your vet gave and rest will help with that) know that there are a great many possible causes of hind end weakness in ferrets and some testing is in order.

Author wrote:
> Hi to all from Italy,
> two days ago I realized that my 5 year old male (Tobia) didn't move hind legs in a normal manner: sometimes keeping them slightly open and sometimes, while walking, the legs - the left one more that the right one - just didn't sustain him and slip aside. Yesterday I took him to the vet., who made an injection of cortisone. The hypotesis is of an inflammation of the nerves on the backside (sorry for my broken english). I'll take Tobia back to the vet. on Friday.
> I heard and read quite a lot of stories about hind legs paralysis in ferrets: does anybody know how to fight/prevent it, or which are the most useful clinical analysis?
> Thanks a lot,
> Alessandro.