From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-08-18 13:49:20 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Obese ferrets?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <7622751.1124372960092.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
There certainly are times when weight gain or volume gain is a call for vet care, and not all of them involve fat though it may seem like fat until a person knows better.
When it is fat -- and beyond the factual parts of previous posts -- adrenal disease can cause a fat redistribution where the ferret gets a pear shape (which can become quite pronounced).
But even when it is fluid it seems rather like fat to many. Fluid in the belly may have a range of causes, but the most common is cardiomyopathy. No matter the cause (cardiomyopathy, kidney disease, lympho, other), when a ferret gets water balloon belly it requires making a vet appointment without delay so that the underlying cause can receive treatment.
Can you tell yourself when it is fat or fluid? Sometimes. If it happened quickly it is more likely to be fluid, but it doesn't always happen really quickly. Sometimes if you lay such a ferret on the back and pat the belly on the side it will behave like a water balloon, but that is not always the case, so when wondering about the cause of a large belly it is worthless to write in the question, "Is this water balloon belly?" because honestly, the treating vet has to look for that in a hands-on appointment.