From:
WOLFYSLUV@aol.com
Date: 2005-06-22 17:41:00 UTC
Subject: Swallowing/choking and genetic causes?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <8d.298ad59c.2feafcac@aol.com>
What genetic causes, could possibly cause trouble swallowing or even
coughing/choking in a ferret? Ruling out any illness, any hairballs, anything
like that .... I'm strictly talking about dysphagia/achlasia (I know that
spelling is wrong) in relation to possible hereditary reaons. I'm particularly
curious about genetic defects that cause "fancy" markings in ferrets such as KIT,
Waardenburg, MITF, SOX3, PAX, etc.. Or syndromes such as Waardensburg,
Leopard, etc.. You see for years, I've recieved emails on occasion about such
"fancies" having some difficulty while eating. I myself had such a ferret. All
ferrets have had clear bills of health at the vets and their conditions have
been somewhat of a mystery. Most lived out a full life, but with discomfort with
the coughing. I'm not sure how many or IF any of them had any other GI
problems after that (such as diareah, weight issues, Mega-E, etc). Mine had
several lifetime issues (swallowing, choking, loose stools, weight up and down, from
the time he was a small kit; later on in life helicobactor and ulcers; and he
also developed many, many teeny hair balls in his esophogus that he'd vomit
up as an adult). He had a host of genetic issues, KIT being the main one. My
ferret and at least one other one that I know of, thrived and is thriving on a
more soft food diet. I don't know if others have tried wet diets, baby food
diets, gravy, etc other than for supportive care or for supplements for weight
issues.
Have shelter operators noticed any such patterns. Vets? Proffsionals
and geneticist hobbyists, do you have any ideas? Sukie and I found a couple
promising papers that linked Kit with neuromuscular dysphagia specifically ...
but we could not access them to see if they "fit" the situation or not. And
there were only a couple.
Wolfy
http://wolfysluv.jacksnet.com