Message Number: FHL6207 | New FHL Archives Search
From: "Tressie"
Date: 2008-10-03 15:03:10 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: seeking advice on surrender coming in with probable coccidia
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com

Hello,

Thank you for your excellent suggestions.

I had a lengthy conversation with my vet this morning and he said that
the odds of this ferret surviving with an active coccidia infection
for a year are low. However, until we can confirm otherwise, we will
approach this as though he does have coccidia. I had found some
conflicting information on whether it is possible to eradicate
coccidia from the system and asked him what he thought. He teaches a
workshop on coccidia to vet students and vet techs and is pretty
knowledgeable on this nasty bug. He told me that the sulfa drugs if
taken long enough (21 days) seem to render the protozoa sterile so
that they cannot reproduce. The key is to make certain he is on the
medication for at least 21 days.

Our plan is to start him on the medication, take all precautions to
isolate him and follow the hygiene steps you have outlined. We will
do a fecal on him every other day and he felt within a week we would
know if he has coccidia. If he does he recommended throwing out all
his bedding and even the cage, litter box etc. once he tests clean.

To that end, he will be put into a clean but older Super Pet rabbit
cage I have, one that can be thrown away. Clean bedding but something
that can be thrown out after so not pretty new hammocks etc. As these
get soiled I will bag them and throw them out and replace with fresh
bedding.

I feel confident now that I can handle this without putting mine at
risk and still providing a safe haven for this poor little tyke.

Thank you to everyone who also wrote to me privately.

Tressie




--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "v.wilber" <marymadmcc@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
> I am a nurse not a vet but I do deal regularly with infectious
> diarrhoea.
>
...


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