From:
julie_fossa@yahoo.com
Date: 2006-05-14 00:25:50 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] RE: Bilateral adrenalectomy
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Shannon,
I'm not a vet, but have had a lot of bi-lateral adrenal ferrets.
Hopefully, your vet will give your ferret a Percorten injection immediately following
surgery. This will sort of jump start him.
I have had bi-lateral ferrets that needed a whole 0.1 mg tablet to feel good and
some that could thrive on less. Some vets prescribe 1/4 tablet. Giving a little more
than is needed is probably safer than not giving enough. You will know if they are
not getting enough. They'll sleep more and not be interested in their food.
The amount of pred needed is small. 0.2 ml of the 5mg/5ml strength solution
works for my ferrets. With a tablet it will be more difficult to measure. You might
try crushing the tablet then dividing it into 'piles' to see about how much each
amount would look like. Then you can just measure that much for each dose. Both
the pred and the florinef can be hidden in soft food. They will look at it as a treat.
(Diluted, warmed chicken or turkey baby food would work. No noodles, rice or
veggies.) The tablets should crush easily by pressing a spoon against the tablet in a
small dish. Inexpensive pill splitters are available that would work for half or
quarter tablets.
> I have 3 questions:
> 1. If my ferret weighs about 3 lbs., does anyone know of a more accurate dosage?
With Buttons (2.5# ferret), I was told to start with a full tablet, then back him off.
Every time I decreased his dose, he declined, so we kept him at that dose for life.
With your vet's blessing, you could start there, and decrease it by 1/4 tablet and
watch how much he sleeps and eats. If he acts like he doesn't feel well, you can
increase it again. If he seems stable, you may want to try decreasing it again in a
few weeks. I would do it slowly and watch his energy level and food intake.
> 2. Is there an easy way to measure 1/20th or 1/10th of a very small tablet?
I would crush one tablet at a time and divide it out into 'doses' to get a feel for how
much powder is in a dose. However, my experiences have been that those small
amounts wouldn't be enough. Personally, I wouldn't start with less than 1/4 tablet
of the Florinef, and 1/10 tablet of the pred.
> 3. Are there any complications from a bilateral adrenalectomy that I should be
aware of?
The pred and florinef will balance the sodium and potassium electrolyte ratio, if I
understand it correctly. The adrenal glands normally do this. When both are
removed, OR if one is removed and the remaining gland isn't functioning properly,
the electrolytes can become imbalanced causing an Addisonian Crisis. This is likely
what happened to your other little ferret.
I have had ferrets that only had one gland removed that had difficult recoveries until
we gave them a little pred and florinef for a few weeks until they were feeling well
again. We then back them off, watching that they continue to feel well. I've found
this to happen more with ferrets that were on the Ferretonin implants for a while
before surgery than with other ferrets.
A blood test can be run to check the sodium:potassium ratio. Even if the ratio is ok,
if the levels are any lower than they should be, even if the ratio is acceptable, they
need the meds. We lost a female when her ratio was ok, but both levels were a little
low and we didn't treat.
You just need to watch every ferret post-op to make sure their recovery progresses
daily, and if not, contact your vet.
Good luck! Hopefully, you'll get some other replies for comparison.
Julie
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