From:
"Bruce Williams, DVM"
Date: 2008-07-26 14:16:41 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: arthritis--do ferrets get it?
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "jasmine j" <jsmebjnsn@...> wrote:
>
> Hi my ferret Tigger has been having some problems walking yesterday--
> today when i came home i found him in the cage curled up and when i
> picked him up his front half was tight and his front paws were curled
> up and under him. It reminds me of arthritis in humans. I am
calling
> my vet first thing in the morning to get him in but in the mean time
is
> there anything i can do for him?? thank you for any info that anyone
> may have.
>
> jasmine
Jasmine - an important bit of information is how old Tigger and has he
ev ery had any problems like this in the past?
That said, arthritis is very uncommon in ferrets, especially in the
legs. They are built for being slinky, and burrowing, and are pretty
well-tooled for that purpose. Of course, animals with pre-existing
skeletal defects would be prone to develop arthritis int he affected
areas, but those syndromes are very rare.
The symptoms that you mention suggest a neurologic problem more than a
musculoskeletal one, and please make sure that your vet runs a blood
glucose even though this presentation is not classic for insulinoma -
it is still the number one cause of neurologic disease in ferrets and
doesn't always read the book.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
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