From:
Regina Badriya Harrison
Date: 2006-08-14 19:21:36 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Clostridium and Enterococcus
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
I am one of those with a ferret with that awful stinky yellow diarrhea. Back in March, Ronan had recurring seedy diarrhea, not the awful yellow kind, and went on the standard flagyl ulcer protocol. He improved, but not much.
In mid-July, the bad diarrhea started, and we could feel an enlarged spleen and see weight loss on the top of his body yet an enlarged belly underneath. We went to the vet, where a fecal culture showed heavy clostridium growth (my very experienced vet is aware that this often shows up in fecal cultures, but this was a very unusual degree). On palpitation, his abdomen appeared to be enlarged with fluid, but x-rays showed that the enlargement was gas (poor guy must have been in awful discomfort!), a byproduct of the clostridium. He went on metronidazole (50mg/ml, 0.44ml 2x per day, 21 days) and his stool improved dramatically within the first two doses. His appetite also increased and he put on weight, back up to his normal size. Spleen and belly remained enlarged, but not as much.
A few days later, we had his complete lab tests in, and those also showed Enterococcus bacteria. Panmycin Aquadrops, a tetracycline, were prescribed (0.32ml 2x per day, 14 days). His stool went from normal in appearance to looking something like many rice-sized/shaped globules of stool clumped together--not grainy or birdseed stool, and normal in color.
We finished up the Panmycin and a few days later finished up the metronidazole. About 18 hours later, he was right back to the stinky yellow diarrhea. On the vet's advice, I put him back on the metronidazole (I had extra, since we brought home a couple of flavor choices) and we have an appointment on Friday.
Unfortunately, my very experienced vet has moved out of state, and I am not confident that my new vet has much ferret experience (the new vet was surprised by how tough Seti's skin was at a recent vaccination). I am hoping that somebody here might have some ideas or experience with these types of infections (my other ferret, btw, has been absolutely fine through all of this). Obviously, keeping Ronan on metronidazole forever isn't a good solution. Is there a heavier-duty drug to use against clostridium? I also wonder if it is possible that the two drugs used together reduced each other's effectiveness.
Any ideas that I can take to the vet with me on Friday would be much appreciated...
Thanks,
Regina
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