From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2009-06-03 00:46:21 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Enlarged Spleen
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi, Elizabeth,
I'm a little confused by your question.
> =A0=A0=A0 Hello I am wondering the cost to fix/cure heal a ferret who has=
an
> enlarged spleen and if the care is permanent or they will be sick forever=
.
What symptoms are you seeing? An enlarged spleen is pretty common in
older ferrets and most experience no clinical symptoms and no real
problems.
The "cure" if absolutely necessary is to remove the spleen surgically.
Obviously that would be permanent but most ferrets with enlarged
spleens just don't need to go to that step. Obviously if the big
spleen is causing problems for your little one you and your vet may
have to consider it.
In the case of an older ferret or otherwise compromised ferret who
can't have surgery the other option is to treat with antibiotics which
is very temporary. I had a ferret named Kodo who had a severely
enlarged spleen when he was around nine years old. It was so big it
impaired his mobility. We did antibiotics (Baytril) two weeks on and
four weeks off and that worked for him, temporarily returning the
spleen to something close to normal size. Considering his age and
other medical issues at the time we weren't terribly worried about
side effects from long term antibiotic use because we knew he didn't
have a long term. The treatment improved his quality of life and
allowed him to wallk, run, and play again.
If you go search the archives from early 2004 or so you should be able
to find a detailed step by step account of Kodo's issues and
treatment.
FWIW, my ferret Ella (age seven) has had an enlarged spleen for at
least three years. She has no symptoms and still runs, plays,
wrestles, and generally acts like a normal ferret. So far we've
elected not to treat her at all. She goes for her next check up in
two weeks and right now she's so happy and playful I don't expect
we'll do anything now.
The usual disclaimer applies: I am not a vet, just a moderately
experienced ferret owner.
Good luck!
Caity and the three little terrors (Ella, Zephyr, and Chin Soon)
http://ferretsofdisorder.blogspot.com
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