From:
meltodandcats@juno.com
Date: 2005-07-17 07:08:50 UTC
Subject: Need info on HYPERTHYROID in ferrets
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <497260.1121584130638.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Hello all! =
My vet asked me to check into information on hyperthyroid in ferrets.
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I have a 1 1/2 year old female MF ferret, Peanut, whom I got Dec 23, 2003 f=
rom a pet store. Okay, she was the only one left and no one wanted her bec=
ause she was a BITER. My heart just went out to her. Peanut was SO tiny, =
that I beg to differ that she was much over 6 to 8 weeks old. My gut feeli=
ng says she was about 6 weeks. =
I will give some health background on Peanut before asking my question so i=
ncase there might be something in her history that might have a clue as to =
my vet's and my current concern:
February 2004 (I believe it was Feb), Peanut spiked a temp to over 107 degr=
ees F!! She was hospitalized at a local University 2 hours from my house. =
They "tentatively" diagnosed her with "ECE". They never were 100% sure wh=
at was wrong with her. The odd thing about her case was, she had vomited c=
hunks of grass earlier that day. Have NO idea where on earth Peanut got gr=
ass as she was caged and all our ferrets are 100% indoors. Now this partic=
ular day Peanut was caged by herself as she just didn't seem herself the ni=
ght before. So we were monitoring her. To this day the grass is still a B=
IG unsolved mystery to my hubby and me (not that I think that even has a th=
ing to do with any of this, but it was a VERY strange happenance). As for =
the ECE, all 6 of our other ferrets ended up with on again off again green =
slime. I was not aware prior to adopting Peanut that it is common for ECE =
to appear after introducing a new kit to the business. We have always had =
older ones we integrated from a shelter adoption.
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Peanut has always had pencil thin poop. Xrays and ultrasound did not show =
any obstruction. I am hoping it is in her "makeup" to have tiny poop being=
she is teeny and has tiny poops most of the time. =
=
Anyway, on to my question....Peanut has lost several ounces in the last yea=
r. She was up to 1.9 (I think my vet weighs in kg) and she went down to 1.=
2 and now she is 1.3. The ounces may be off a few digits, however the fact =
remains she lost about 7 ounces in the last year. Peanut is VERY hyper!!! =
For example, we got 2 abandoned ferrets this past April and she would drag=
the male, Tommie, around the floor by his scruff. He is a BIG boy, too - =
almost 3 pounds!! =
=
Since then, Peanut has calmed down toward Tommie. The vet has witnessed he=
r aggressive super hyper behavior one time I had all 8 ferrets to the vet f=
or a checkup. He was concerned at that point along with the fact that is w=
hen it was discovered she lost alot of weight for a ferret her size. My ve=
t keeps leaning toward hyperthyroid issue. He is not a ferret "expert" vet=
, but one who is not afraid to learn and he will admit when it is above him=
. When it is above his knowledge and experiences, we take our fuzzbutts to=
an excellent vet in VA which happens to be a four hour drive from our plac=
e in Palmyra, PA. What we wouldn't do for our furkids!!
=
We feed our kids Totally Ferret and each night they get either Gerber's tur=
key or chicken baby food. That started when my one insulinomic ferret, Fre=
d (RIP 5/29/05) got so sick last year before and after his 1st insulinoma s=
urgery. =
Also, there has been no blood work on Peanut. My vet feels there is no nee=
d at this time to run tests without knowing specifically what he is looking=
for. He said she looks to be perfectly healthy. She is very tiny and thi=
n, but not bony and sickly thin - if that makes sense. She has good muscle=
tone. =
So...if there is any info on hyperthyroid in ferrets, it would be much appr=
eciated if someone could direct me to that info. I have searched the FHL a=
rchives and performed a google search to include "hyperthyroid in ferret" a=
nd played around with the words (not using quotes in my search). The only =
thing I found was a FEW articles which all concluded hyperthyroid is VERY R=
ARE in ferrets. Well, that doesn't really help me and my vet.
Thanking you in advance for your assistance!
=
Luv em fuzzies!
Melanie
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