From:
"lizpuff2006"
Date: 2009-09-08 19:34:52 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Strange death
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Last month I received a ferret from a woman at my vet clinic who was moving. He was around 3 years old. From the moment I brought him home I knew he was very different from the two ferrets I already have.
Anyway, he died last night in his sleep and I was wondering if anyone could give me anything to check on in case it is something serious that I should check my ferrets for.
The woman I got him from was a vet tech and when she gave him to me she said he was in perfect health. I noticed he walked strange but thought nothing of it at the time.
One of the things that I felt was off was his body. He was a normal weight and size, but he was "squishy" I mean when I pick my other two up their bodies are stiff and you can feel the muscles. He was soft. I called him Marshmallow because that was really what he felt like.
Another thing was that he was not as active as my other two. In the morning I take them all out of the cage to get some exercise. My other two ferrets immediately begin to play and run around. Moose would just lay about. If he saw something he wanted to hide he would get up and start moving but he just lumbered about.
The last thing I noticed was his affinity for the litter box. When in his cage he would constantly lay in the litter box. It was not uncommon for me to have to wash him daily to get all of the litter box contents from his fur.
Last night he was fine. He ran around the room with Odie and Minnie and then I put them back into their cage. This morning when I went to wake them, they were all laying on the bottom level of the cage together. Odie and Minnie climbed out but Moose didn't move. That was when I realized he was dead.
They are all on the same food (8 in 1) and drink the same water. My other ferrets appear to be ok. They are eating and running around still. I set a vet appointment just to be sure, but I really want to know if anyone can tell me just why he may have died.
[Moderator's question:
Necropsy with pathology is being done, right?
It is really the ONLY way to know except the
rare occasions when toxicology is also needed.
Was the squishiness checked to make sure it
was not ascites?]
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