From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2009-02-05 15:12:20 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: FERRET HELP PLEASE fur loss, listless, large mass
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
You don't say where she is, but it sounds like
this ferret would be helped by having a vet
who is used to ferrets if the report you gave
is complete and accurate.
This may help in that case:
http://ferrethealth.org/vets/
It is among the many resources available
though the FHL File and Links sections.
The fur loss pattern does sound like adrenal
disease, and the listlessness could have any
of several causes: dangerous anemia that can
happen secondary to untreated adrenal disease,
insulinoma (another common problem with
ferrets), something related to the spleen, or
other causes.
Now, older ferrets DO tend to get enlarged spleens
but the spleen can get especially large if there
is infection (often helicobacter though can be
others), or if certain malignancies are present such
as lymphoma. Ferrets do very well without a spleen,
but not all large ones need to come out for ferrets.
A spleen with lymphoma can feel different on
palpation from other causes of enlargement (though
not always) with uneven margins, or thickened areas.
A TN Panel would say if there is adrenal disease,
but with the fur loss over the sacrum that is so
commonly adrenal disease that it is probably safe
to go from that assumption and operate or treat
IF the other values indicate that is safe, and if the
vet knows ferret surgery well enough.
You do NOT mention a CBC and a Chemistry Panel
being done. Those are indicated for this ferret. If
the vet has good cause to suspect splenic lymphoma
then an ultrasound guided aspiration is a possibility.
Prednisolone or Prednisone (which an uncompromised
liver will change to Prednisolone before the body
can use it) is used for lymphoma and is also used
for insulinoma (and will affect test results for blood
glucose levels), but it can backfire if used with a normal
level of infection. (It can be important to reduce
extreme immune system responses because those can
get dangerous, but normal responses to infection are
desired.)
I think that it would make sense to consider that the
listlessness of this ferret might indicate a heart problem.
Was the chest imaged well enough? That will usually
catch one type. One reason I am saying that is the
breathing, though lymphoma can sometimes cause
ascites (fluid where it should not be) or even mechanical
problems from the size alone. Pain, too, can alter how
a ferret breathes. If there is heart disease
but there is not lymphoma or not insulinoma then
Pred is not a good choice.
It sounds like there needs to be a better idea what is
going on and which of the things fit into the normal
picture for a ferret of 6 years old, and which do not.
That will involve close communication of your daughter
with the vet, more complete testing if the description
is complete, and perhaps seeing a vet who is more used
to ferrets, or having the treating vet use a consulting
ferret vet if the treating vet wants to learn and your
daughter is most comfortable with that approach.
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "dekan_edun" <dekan_edun@...> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone, we are new to this list. My daughter has a female that
> is 6 years of age who is very ill. We noticed hair loss about 8
> months ago, and she is now bare on her lower back and her tail does
> not have much either. We thought Adrenal Disease... two weeks ago,
> she started to act very listless, no energy at all...just wanting to
> sleep, and she is scratching like crazy. We took her to our vet
> (one of which is not too knowledgeable about ferrets as our regular
> vet retired a year ago) and they took an x-ray of her abdomen which
> showed a huge mass in there. They think it may be an enlarged
> spleen? They wanted to do exploratory surgery but my daughter did
> not want to put her ferret through this. They sent us home with
> Prednisone 1.5mg/ml and we are to give her 1.0 ml once a day. Now
> the mass in her abdomen is huge, I can feel it from the outside of
> her body. Her breathing is labored. We are feeding her duck soup,
> she will eat some dry food here and there... she will try to play
> at times and other times, she just wants to sleep.
> My question... is there anything we should be doing for this
> animal? Should we let them do exploratory surgery or would it
> help? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
> Thank you,
> Kathy
>
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:ferrethealth-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:ferrethealth-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ferrethealth-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/