From:
jadeblasio@aol.com
Date: 2009-03-05 13:00:00 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Very sick ferret Just diagnosed w/Restrictive Cardiomyopathy...very sick...may
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
[Moderator: Although the content is very similar to
last night's post it contains some new info, too.]
Lucas was just diagnosed via ultra sound by a traveling
technician/vet...with Dilated Cardiomyopathy. He was treated w/Oxygen for 48hrs, as he had
breathing difficulty...and was started on
.09 4mg/ml Enalapril and .1cc furosemide each 1x daily. And was given shots
of Baytril (3) and release w/oral Baytril
He also gets .15cc of prednisilone (10mg/ml) 2x daily for his Insulinoma
that he has had for over 2yrs
I was advised he was doing much better the next day. He was eating for the
the vet techs when feed by hand etc.
When I went to pick him up...he was horrible.
Grinding nonstop
refusing to eat
just wanting to hide his head
and clawing my sweetshirt
his paw pads were red/and is gums were pretty red.
he was having loose stools
he also had a red rash on his stomach that they felt was from the alcohol
rubbed on his stomach when he had the ultra sound..that has gone away.
I was advised that this was not happening in the 48hrs he was there.
I asked them to ck his sugar.... it was once again 62, but it was time for
his pred and feeding...he had not had pred for 12hrs at this point and was not
feed for about 5hrs...so I thought that was an ok sugar...given the fact it
was 12hrs out and he was due for his meds.
I took him to a friend who is a vet tech because she is very good a nursing
ferrets. Sh is not only a vet tech, but also ran an ADV + ferret shelter
for many years...and at one point was caring for 72 ADV + ferrets.
She started him on pepcid and carafate.
I was told to watch hydration and NOT to give fluids unless I felt he was
dehydrated to call for them to advise me how much fluids to give.... but not
to give the fluids w/o calling.
She felt he was dehydrated.....so she started to give fluids 9cc....just
alittle
He continues to do badly.....worse.
He refusing to eat anything...baby food, vivfy, ferretone...all the stuff he
loves
she has tried A/D..Carnivore
care....so she has taken to syringe feeding
him Ensure Plus...which she has to
struggle to get into him. When this ferret
was sick w/an enlarged heart and
breathing difficutly he was eating for me
as a matter of fact he ate a whole
jar of babyfood before we left for the
vet..so for him not to
eat...something is very wrong.
He is still grinding despite the use of pepcid & carafate (each being
administered properly)
His stools were soft but not runny...and had an organe color to them w/some
mucas and that has not changed to forrect green (prior to this he was having
some diarreah issues for the last 3months on and off w/mucas and a fool
stench).
He still only wants to hide and not be touched
He is contantly throwing his bedding around as if he is angry
He is also dehyrating more..so she is giving the fluids as needed
She said his breathing and heart are normal...she was listening w/her
stehoscope
she did a stain of the feces at home and it came back w/absolutely NO
bacteria...he is getting benebac now, I know it is said not to help ferrets but it
has worked in the past for him to replace bateria in the stool...
He has now been on Baytril for 4days w/no improvement
She said he seems to be very stressed so she does not want to try to do too
much to him.
Lucas did have blood work done on Friday before he got very sick... it was
taken because of the diarreah issues he has been having.... it was a diareah
panel given by IDEXX that had fecal and blood combined... the blood work was
pretty normal...
He did have:
Low Albumin 2.5 (normal range 3.4-4.8)
High Globulin 2.9 (normal range 0.2-2.4)
Glucose was 80 (this was a fasted of at least 3 to 4hrs)
Neutrophil Seg 83 (normal 31-57%) so this was high
Lymphocytes 7 (normal 22.48% so this was low
Monocytes 10 (normal 0-1%)
The fecal results showed prominent background of amorphous debris. Bacteria
are seen in moderate numbers and population appears to be heterogenous (now
there are none). There are occasional superficial epithelial cells which may
reflect sample collection (scraping ?). Rare neutrophils are seen. There
are occasional neutrophils seen which may be a reflection mild suppurative
inflammation.
His vet tech is at a loss as are both vets who have seen him, both ferret
knowledgeable ....so you have any suggestions or ideas for him?
I think something secondary to the cardiomyopathy may be going on..since the
breathing seems normal and the heart sounds fine.
Thank you,
Judy
------------------------------------
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/