From:
"myferretmail"
Date: 2008-03-26 17:38:55 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Ferret losing back leg use/also has urinary problems (connected?) +++++
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Here's the summary:
Houdini began coming out his cage with a wet bottom and back legs a
few months ago. We took him to a vet who suggested a probable urinary
tract infection and started him on amoxicillin. That did not work, so
he tried Baytril, which also did not work. Then he tried Clavamox,
which also did nothing for the urinary problem, but cleared up a minor
mouth irritation that had developed.
Twice during this process we had to collect a urine sample, but
Houdini was not peeing in a stream, it seemed to just be leeching out.
Therefore, we had to use a small syringe (no needle) to collect the
samples, drop-by-drop. (This usually took us a few hours.)
The results came back positive for bacteria, but was so full of
variations (both times) that the vet determined the results were being
skewed by collecting it off his surface skin.
A few days ago Houdini came out of his cage and his back legs
immediately folded beneath him. He took another step, and the same
happened. After 5-10 minutes he was moving almost normally, but with a
noticeable and wobbly gait.
The next day it was slightly worse, two days later he was all but
dragging his back end around. (His back legs still move, but he can
only push off slightly with them.)
We have him scheduled for an ultrasound next Wednesday (the first
available appointment), but are worried our vet, not all that
ferret-savvy, might be missing something a ferret-wise vet might
understand.
HELP!!!
Michael
P.S. I understand we are not supposed to mention drug names, so feel
free to rewrite as needed. I was not sure how to describe the three
drugs mentioned to assist in helping diagnose the problem, so I will
leave that to the moderators.
[Moderator's Note: Drug names CAN be mentioned. In fact, it can be very
useful when they are included, along with info like doses, ferret weight,etc.
What can't be mentioned in connection to a case are the names of the vets
and the hospitals. That originated as a request by vets after someone not
connected with a given case harassed a treating vet who had been mentioned,
and to top it off the vet was doing exactly the right things. The harassing
non-vet was wrong in action and information.]
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