From:
"SukieC"
Date: 2010-08-20 16:45:58 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: ferret with lameness after rabies shot and xrays
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
> I will never let my ferrets go into a back room with anyone.
We do all the time without anything going wrong. Of course,
the hospital we use has people we know and is owned by
someone we know.
In this case I think that speaking with a senior vet at the
hospital involved may be among the logical steps in case
the vaccination or the choice of holds is involved, which
it might be (though it might be coincidental).
As another has said an outside opinion may be in order.
> If they insisted on a rabies shot for an old ferret, I
would have been out the door and finding another vet.
That is something else which has not caused us a problem
in the decades we've had ferrets. We do NOT vaccinate
UNhealthy ones, we do titers before considering whether
to do a canine distemper shot, and if a ferret has had what
definitely was an allergic reaction to a vaccine we do not
give that vaccine to the ferret again.
Why do we vaccinate healthy animals?
For canine distemper we do so because
it is such a absolutely horrible, horrible way for a ferret to
die and it can be tracked in on shoes.
For rabies we know
that the chances of our ferrets getting it are slim and that
there so far has never been a case world-wide of anyone
contracting rabies from a ferret BUT we also know that if
a ferret has not been vaccinated and someone who has been
bitten or even claims to have been bitten insists on the
animal being destroyed and tested that it too often will happen.
After the effectiveness testing for IMRAB 3 was done but
before the CDC testing on how rabies behaves in ferrets was
done there actually were situations in which people's exes
claimed to have been bitten and had ferrets destroyed. The
chances of our ferret encountering that is small but it is
at least as large as the chance of reacting to the rabies vaccine.
> I'm sure they will insist that the shot had nothing to
Trying to predict the behavior of others beforehand has a
strong tendency to be inaccurate. With individuals who
the person doesn't even know for a situation where the
person was not even there the chances of inaccuracy
increase. That's just life.
Better to not assume the worst about people but to give them
a chance.
Still, I think I'd err on the side of caution by discussing it with
a senior faculty veterinarian there and then that person can
question the intern directly. It may carry more oomph if
another veterinarian speaks with the senior faculty vet.
An allergic reaction usually happens pretty fast (minutes) though
there can be rare exceptions.
Injury is certainly among the possibilities.
So is the chance that
the ferret was already dealing with a medical problem that
went unspotted before vaccination. Given that the ferret
is starting the senior years was a thorough examination and
testing appropriate for the ferret's age done beforehand?
Also, is there any chance that the ferret may have had an
injury in the carry cage going home? There have been
people who have talked about such injuries under other
circumstances so certainly an injury could occur following
a vet visit.
How long did the person remain at the hospital after vaccination?
if the person did not does that mean that the ferret had a
long ride without being monitored after a vaccination?
How hot was the vehicle?
Any chance of a pre-existing skeletal problem?
Any meds that need adjusting for stresses such as Fludrocort/Florinef?
Any medical problem which can cause a thrown clot?
We've certainly see one leg be affected in such a
situation.
Yes, the person who said to x-ray was right, too.
Just a few days ago I happened on a cause of clots that I
never knew about. A person suggested sodium bicarbonate
(baking soda) for Hilbert because some studies in humans
show that some people with kidney problems are greatly
helped by it. It turns out that like any medical approach
it can go wrong if the amount of the baking soda is wrong
and one of the things that can happen is seizures. Your
mention of "tummy troubles" made me wonder about that
or if it might be a component in any meds used.
Now, these were only human studies, but I did not find any
in ferrets that appeared to be applicable to the search I
was doing that day:
http://www.la-press.com/forty-years-abuse-of-baking-soda-rhabdomyolysis-glomerulonephritis-hyp-article-a869
If nothing else it brings home that sometimes causes of
seizures may be unusual.
For this one I kind of wonder two things most at this level of information:
1. Injury at the clinic
2. Hidden cause of thrown clots (heart disease, lymphoma,
kidney disease) etc. and the stress of the entire situation
causing a clot to be thrown.
but without testing and examination those are just guesses, of course.
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