From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2010-03-22 14:15:32 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Ferret losing weight
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi,
On 3/22/10, taimipogorzelski@ymail.com <myrealtortaimi@gmail.com> wrote:
> My ferret keeps losing weight and have had him to the vet three different
> times and he still is not getting any better.
There are lots of things that can cause weight loss. We had this
happen with Pertwee on three different occasions. The first time he
was diagnosed with heliobacter and that was cleared up with
antibiotics. The second time it was a first symptom of adrenal
disease that showed up before anything else.
The third time, some years later, our vet couldn't find anything
wrong. Blood work was normal as was a fecal smear. He made an
educated guess that it might be chronic pancreatitis. We were giving
Pertwee regular feedings of Bob Church's Chicken Gravy, which he
loved. At the time there was no test for pancreatitis in ferrets
(don't know if that's changed) so trying the meds was the only way to
diagnose it. Our vet had us mix Viokase-V, which is basically a powder
that provides pancreatic enzymes, into Pertwee's gravy. That worked
and Pertwee started gaining weight again. He had the Viokase-V added
to his diet for the rest of his life and he was able to maintain a
normal body weight with it.
Another possibility our vet mentioned (before we knew it was
pancreatitis) was coeliac disease (a/k/a sprue). That would have been
truly bad news because, at least back then, there was no treatment.
So... has your vet done a fecal smear or blood work? If not, that's
where I'd ask him or her to start. If not you can discuss the idea of
pancreatitis as well. Again, these are just ideas to discuss with
your vet.
The usual disclaimer applies: I am not a vet. I don't even play one on TV.
Good luck,
Caity and the terrific trio (Ella, Chin Soon, and Zephyr0
[Yes, and there are multiple other causes like
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, some malignancies,
ECE, and more so more info on what testing as done and
what found, symptoms, age, etc. are needed.
-- Moderator]
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