From:
badriya@rcn.com
Date: 2006-09-08 19:09:47 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] A difficult case (very long)
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
I wrote previously about my ferret Ronan, who had clostridium and enterococ=
cus infections. My vet was very experienced with ferrets, and these were r=
eal infections, not a misreading of the levels ordinarily found in ferret s=
tool. Clinical signs were very stinky yellow diarrhea, a very enlarged spl=
een and weight loss, as well as a substantial gas buildup in his intestines=
due to the clostridium, as seen on x-rays. He went on a three week round =
of metronidazole, and a week later when all the lab results were in, a two =
week round of panmyacin drops (a tetracycline drug). We saw immediate impr=
ovement with the medications, but within about 18 hours after we finished t=
he two meds, his stool returned to the awful yellow stuff again. It never =
had become normal, but was at best an oatmeal consistency and texture. He =
gained quite a bit of weight back on as well.
Ronan then went on a higher dose of metronidazole and clavamox, as well as =
pepcid, gas-x for babies and acidophillus (since he'd been on antibiotics f=
or so long at this point, we figured his native gut fauna were probably suf=
fering). Shortly after starting this regimen, we did an ultrasound to chec=
k on the spleen and some enlarged lymph nodes that the vet felt. Everythin=
g checked out ok, but since Ronan had gotten overweight, fat did occlude th=
e picture a bit. There was also a lot of fluid present in his intestines. =
When the vet listened to his heart, it sounded muffled, so we did an echoc=
ardiogram as well. He showed a little stenosis in the aortic chamber, but =
not enough to be concerned about right now. We did see an improvement once=
again, though also again his stool was oatmeal like at best. He appeared =
to be expelling some of that fluid buildup, and his stool was made of small=
particles--not birdseed, but like what you might expect since it was being=
formed in a too-liquid environment. His spleen reduced in size. His acti=
vity level improved, and between that and some food restriction he lost som=
e weight. This course of treatment continued for two weeks.
We finished the antibiotics last Friday, and he proceeded to produce a wide=
array of stool types, from nearly normal (although still globby) to greeni=
sh-grey bulky stuff to yellowy-green diarrhea, although thankfully no more =
of the really stinky stuff. That combined with his spleen going down makes=
me think that we have at least kicked the infection. But here is what we =
have left:
-Stool that is poorly formed and often liquid, rarely the right color
-tendency to gain weight--and it is fat, not just liquid in the abdomen tho=
ugh that is present too.
-grinding teeth after eating. This is new, as of finishing the last round =
of antibiotics. He is back on pepcid to provide some relief.
-no dark or tarry stool; that's the one kind he hasn't produced
-Everything apart from the now mildly enlarged spleen and a couple of lymph=
nodes was a normal size and shape on the ultrasound, with the caveat that =
there was a lot of fat and liquid present.
We had been thinking that it was likely that Ronan had IBD, and that we'd s=
tart treatment for that (pediapred) once the antibiotics were done. But th=
e vets (the entire exotics staff is involved at this point) feel that the w=
eight gain is not at all consistent with a diagnosis of IBD, and the tooth =
grinding is not either. At this point, I think the only option we have lef=
t is to do exploratory surgery to get biopsies of his intestinal wall (to c=
heck for IBD) and to do a direct examination of his organs. He appears to =
be healthy enough for the surgery, and he is obviously in pain after he eat=
s, so we will go ahead and pursue this option.
So, if anybody is still reading, does this collection of symptoms sound at =
all familiar? It all seems very contradictory. I'm tempted to think that =
there's some kind of obstruction in his stomach and perhaps also in his int=
estine, but there was nothing on the x-ray or ultrasound (but as mentioned,=
there are factors that make the clarity of his x-rays and ultrasounds ques=
tionable). But something kicking around inside might have made him more su=
sceptible to the infections that brought our attention to all this. =
Seti, who shares everything with Ronan including the last drops of linatone=
off each other's whiskers, has been largely well, though he did have a bou=
t of gastritis two weeks ago. The regular regimen of metronidazole, pepcid=
and amoxycillan cleared that up.
I will post updates as I get them, in case this can help anyone else in the=
future. I apologize that I don't have the medicine dosages/concentrations=
listed, but I'm at work and the bottles are at home.
Regards,
Regina
=
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