From:
Joanne
Date: 2005-10-14 01:50:59 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Melatonin Implants... ferret dead!
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com, samls samls <samls@ssvecnet.com>
I hope I don't make this too long and drawn out....
First of all... I'm Joanne from Ferret Corner Shelter.
Been running the shelter for 5 years now. That being
said... here goes:
Eve was a transfer from another shelter when they
closed their doors. She came to us January 9, 2005.
No fur on her, and huge belly. 7 years old and a
single ferret. After being her for a couple weeks she
made friends and grew her fur almost all back in. She
got soup daily with melatonin in it.
She lost the excess weight too.... so much running and
playing to do she couldn't keep it on. She looked
wonderful and so full of life.
Our vet had gotten in the new implants per our
suggestion. We decided to put Eve on it. She had
been adrenal for at least 2-3 years and we didn't want
to risk the surgery with her after so long. The
implant was a blessing...so we thought.
She went in for the implant Oct 12, 2005. She was
happy and bouncing around. Once the vet put the
implant in... that was it. She lost all her energy.
We monitored her at home, gave her soup and keep an
eye or 10 on her.
Finally on Oct 11, 2005 We took her back in. We
thought something just wasn't right with the
implant... because I hadn't heard of any other kid
having this problem (this was our first time using
it). The vet called Melatek and they said that
sometimes ferrets can become lethargic for about 5-7
days after the implant as their bodies adjust... made
sense...
She had lost weight due to her not eating too much...
and was messing on herself because she didn't have the
strength to get up and go potty.
Oct 12, 2005 she suddenly took a turn for the worst.
She was refusing soup and having a hard time
breathing... at 11:06 pm she passed away.
I took her in today, Oct 13, 2005 to have the necropsy
done to find out what happened.
The vet said that it appears that somehow her heart
was dialated and pumped blood into her right lung. He
didn't understand how that would happen though... not
so quickly as it did with her. Her other organs
looked ok (of course left adrenal gland enlarged).
That he was concerned that somehow the implant had
something to do with it but didn't know how.
I have asked him to keep her in cold storage until our
vet can talk to Melatek to find out what could have
happened to her.
Could it have been a bad batch that our vet recieved?
Could her body have been rejecting the casing of he
implant?
I have a ton of questions and no answers. If this is
something that can happen to smaller ferrets (her
healthy weight was 1.04 pounds) then that should be
put out there as a warning.
Even if she had a heart condtion... this should not
have done this to her....
If Melatek (or Dr. Murray) needs biopsy or her body...
all they need do is ask and we will figure something
out.
I believe in the implants... however until I have some
better answers I will NOT be using them.
Can anyone vet or not give me some ideas/thoughts
Joanne
Ferret Corner Shelter
missing her baby "Evil Eevers"
[Moderator's Note:
Just because two things occur close together in time does not mean that they are
related, especially in an elderly ferret who has has a huge belly -- which is often a
cardiac illness sign -- and dies with the necropsy matching death from Congestive
Heart Failure.
***Is pathology being done?***
If you are worried about the implant is toxicology being done?
Right now it is not possible to eliminate the possibility that the melatonin implant
just happened to be given at a time when the ferret had enough heart disease to not
deal with any stress. Hidden or undiscovered heart disease is certainly well
documented in ferrets, and sadly not unusual, and certainly when it is advanced a
stressful situation can be too much for an individual. A vet friend's ferret with
advanced heart disease got to the point where even a 3 degree change in the
temperature of the home was too much of a stress factor.
Since you were already giving oral melatonin we know that melatonin itself was
certainly being well tolerated.]
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