From:
Mike
Date: 2011-03-08 04:02:34 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Ferret weight loss possibly cystic liver?
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, F M L <ferret-L@listserv.ferretmailinglist.org>
[Two posts combined
-- moderator]
We have a ferret which we adopted from a rescue almost three and a half yea=
rs ago.=A0 He was with another ferret and they were both suppose to be 6+ y=
ears old.=A0 The other ferret had adrenal disease, insulinoma, and cardiac =
issues.=A0 He passed away a few months after we brought him home.=A0 The ot=
her ferret named Bandit did not appear to be 6+ years old and our vet thoug=
ht maybe 2 years old.=A0 So he is between 5.5 and 9.5 years old.
Bandit has had insulinoma for the last year and a half.=A0 He appears to be=
adrenal with a lot of hair loss on the feet and bottom of the tail.=A0 A D=
eslorin Implant several months ago has not had any effect. He seemed to be =
looking very skinny and his weight was down about 4 - 5 ounces.=A0 We found=
he had a predominance of a spore forming rod in his stool and was put on c=
lavamox and then given some (forget the name) to restore the normal flora o=
f the digestive system.=A0 He seemed to improve for a little while but we n=
oticed he looked skinny again and his weight is even lower than it was befo=
re.=A0 He weighs 1 lbs 13 ounces.=A0 He use to average 2 lbs 3 ounces.=A0 H=
e moves around and his eyes look clear and bright and he is curious and get=
s into stuff but after a little while he goes off and sleeps.
He gets 0.5 mls of a 1mg/1ml Prednisolone twice a day with pepcid, and pure=
ed chicken (15 ml chicken with about 30 ml water)=A0 He normally eats it al=
l without problems, but the last couple days he has not finished it and it =
seems to be getting worse.=A0 We were feeding him 3 times a day and now 4, =
but he doesn't seem to want to eat very much.=A0 I tried mixing ensure toni=
ght but that didn't help very much.
I had a ferret within the last year Sprout who ended up passing away (we he=
lped over the bridge at the end).=A0 We found out that he had cystic liver =
disease and Bandit is acting a lot like he did.=A0 We are going to try and =
get him to the vet tomorrow, Wed at the latest.
I don't want to help him over the bridge too soon, he is alert and looks ok=
ay other than being skinny (very skinny).=A0 I'm afraid if we can't get him=
to eat and turn around soon he wont have much time left.=A0 Could he be 9 =
+ years old and this be normal=A0 (I doubt that but I have not had ferrets =
who were older than 7.
My thoughts are he is 5.5 years old and has cystic liver disease and he doe=
sn't have much time left.=A0 My fear is he doesn't have cystic liver diseas=
e and this is treatable.=A0 I have seen him eating kibble but that was a co=
uple days ago.=A0 His stools seem normal to soft but that could be due to t=
he ferret tone he gets with his meds.=A0 He only gets a few drops at med ti=
me and every other day some when its bed time.=A0 His stools are not green =
or mucusy.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Mike
[Second post blow]
Bandit is clear and sharp eyed and active he does not look sick or weak but=
its
like his body is failing if that makes sense
Mike
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