From:
"ashg2509"
Date: 2009-07-25 21:05:32 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Sick Ferret - Looking For Advice
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi Everyone [:)] ,
I am new to this group. I am posting because I have a very ill ferret
and am looking for some advice. I have been to the vet many times and
the treatments are not working - he continues to go down hill. I am
hoping that perhaps someone on here may have some ideas on what he could
have or where to go from here.
Victor has been sick for about 2 and a half months now, and continues to
get worse no matter what we do. It started off with him sleeping a bit
more than usual, green, runny stool and vomiting. The vomiting and green
stool stopped after two days, but he still was sleeping a lot and had
diarrhea. After a week and a half of this I took him to the vet and a
fecal sample was taken and tested and showed a great increase in
bacteria, but nothing too unusual. The diagnosis was ECE (even though
none of my other 5 ferrets had any of these symptoms and were healthy).
Victor was put on an antibiotic mix of Medronidazole and Amoxil for a
week. His symptoms seemed to clear up but he was still sleeping a lot.
After his week of antibiotics was up he continued to sleep lots wasn't
eating much and had severe, liquid diarrhea. After a week he was put on
the same antibiotic mix but for two weeks this time. His symptoms again
seemed to get better when on the antibiotics, yet he was still sleeping
alot.
Once he was done his second round of antibiotics, he got worse than ever
before. He started sleeping 24/7, stopped eating his dry food, had
constant diarrhea and developed ulcers. He had also lost half a pound in
just a week, and has absolutely no muscle mass, he's just skin and
bones. He was taken to the vet to have blood work done, and the results
showed that he was anemic with very low protein levels and a low red
blood count. The vet believes he has internal bleeding, but there is no
dark stool.
He was then put on another antibiotic mix of Clarithromycin and
Amoxicillin for two weeks, which he is currently still on. He is being
fed canned food mixed with water and Omega 3 fish oil every four hours,
and is given sulcralfate a half hour before every meal. He doesn't have
diarrhea anymore because I now add pumpkin to his food, but he is thin
as can be, is sleeping all the time, he's only up to use the bathroom
and eat, that's it!
Any advice or ideas on what he could have would be greatly appreciated!!
------------------------------------
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