From:
"Jeff"
Date: 2010-09-14 07:19:51 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Unknown Digestive Disorder
To: "Ferret Health List" <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
For more than 2 months now my boy Pop, who's somewhere around 3 or 4 years old, has been having constant digestive problems that are gradually worsening. I've tried almost everything, and after completing his first round of antibiotics for two weeks (amoxicillin and baytril), which helped initially to make his stools more solid and less stinky, his diarrhea came back and smelled worse than ever. He is now on a second round of amoxicillin and baytril and we should have the results Tues or Wed of a fecal culture for bacteria. The second round of antibiotics helped for the first few days, and while his poops never really got solid, they stopped smelling and were more solid than loose. However, that only lasted for about 3 or 4 days into the second round of antibiotics, and now his stools are worse than ever. Tonight he had the worst yet.... loose stool, followed immediately by what I can best describe as looking like loose butterscotch pudding. It was darker yellow in color
and like mucous, but thicker. He had a little of this earlier in the day, but not this badly. I am at the point now where I am fearing possible lymphoma, and it is time to start him on prednisolone. I did a one-dose test of prednisolone last week after seeing the vet, and it seemed to help immediately, as his next few poops were the best in a long time. I wanted to try all avenues before having to accept that he may need to be on the pred for the rest of his life, but I'm at the point now where I don't see any other alternatives.
Has anyone dealt with this butterscotch pudding kind of discharge, and if so, what was causing it? There was actually quite a bit of it. Also, what would be the recommended dosage of prednisolone for IBD or lymphoma for a ferret who is about 3 lbs.
Throughout all of this, at least thus far, Pop has maintained his weight and his appetite, despite not having had a regular solid stool for more than 2 months. His activity level has decreased a little, but he's still quite active and playful. I have supplemented his soup with Hills A/D, and he gets the mixture 3 times daily, eating some kibble in between.
As for his history, he came to me severely malnourished and underweight in December, abandoned with his buddy Pip, who passed away 2 months later due to some kind of severe digestive tract problem that, despite 3 days of hospitalization, could not be stopped, and just ravaged his insides. I had to help Pip to the bridge when it was clear that he could not recover. I'm hoping that Pop isn't headed for a similar fate, and I'm trying to do everything I can to help him keep his good quality of life. Any clues as to what I am dealing with and how I can best approach it would be appreciated.
Jeff
In Memory of Neo, Trinity, Possum, Pip, Misty, Frodo, Baggins, and Mr. Parker
Caring for Luna, Morphy, Baby Girl, Dozer, Pop, Sabrina, and Minnie Mouse
[That appearance is very common with
diarrhea from insulinoma. In fact, if
you look up the word
butterscotch
in the FHL archives:
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
you will find that among the results rather
often. Not all ferrets show that they are
dealing with insulinoma with other
symptoms first.
The smell and mucus aspect also make a
person wonder about the catch-all category
of IBD which can respond to treatments
only temporarily.
Both of those also respond to prednisolone.
-- Moderator]
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