From:
Regina Badriya Harrison
Date: 2008-09-13 17:39:00 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] re: Clostridium
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
How timely--I was just about to write in questions about clostridium as well.
Like Jane, I had a ferret who had regular flare-ups of clostridium overgrowths, which could be beaten back with metronadazole (Flagyl) but never entirely cured. We knew though biopsy that this ferret also had a severe case of Irritable Bowel Disorder, and presumably that's why his system couldn't fight off the clostridium overgrowth.
I now have another ferret, Sisiutl, just diagnosed with clostridium overgrowth. We did one week's treatment of Antirobe. My vet prescribed Antirobe rather than Flagyl because this ferret is extremely difficult to medicate, to the point where we are seriously afraid she will injure herself thrashing around. She's also one of those ferrets who can twist around inside their scruff. Antirobe is slightly less bitter than Flagyl, but getting it into her is still a two person job. Now another week later I see the signs of an overgrowth again: vomiting, nausea after eating, foul-smelling and poorly formed seedy stool. She's also started grinding her teeth a bit. On my vet's advice, we'll do a ten day course of the Antirobe and I am going to add a daily dose of famotidine (pepcid a/c) as well.
However, like Desiree, I am also worried after surfing around a bit and reading up on clostridium. There are different varieties so it can be a bit hard to figure out what is relevant and what isn't, but what worries me after my reading is that these overgrowths will inevitably lead to enteritis or IBD. That was a pretty lousy way to lose a ferret and I'm hoping I won't have to see it again, but after my previous experience, I'm quite worried about what's in store for this little one. She's somewhere between 2.5 and 3 y.o., full of spunk and life, so at least she's starting from a strong position.
So my question is, do ferrets really recover fully from clostridium overgrowths? Or are we looking at a (presumably shortened) lifetime of this?
Thanks,
Regina
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