Message Number: FHL13087 | New FHL Archives Search
From: "kittyspirit09"
Date: 2011-04-02 04:29:15 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] 4 y/o male ferret gets sick day after clean bill of health at vet
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com

I wasn't sure what to title this, so I'm sorry if it's vague.

Hello, this is my first post. I recently acquired 4 older ferrets a few months ago, all around 4 years of age, 2 boys, 2 girls. These are the first ferrets I've owned and I have done as much reading as I could about the common diseases and problems. Unfortunately, 1 boy (Casanova) already passed away due to enlarged prostate and bladder infection. I only had a few hours warning that day he couldn't pee. This was 3/18.

That day I took my other 3 ferrets in as well for a wellness check, plus 1 female (Callie) was very adrenal and balding I had to get her started on Lupron. My other boy ferret Coco, is mainly what this post is about.

That day the vet gave him a thorough exam and she thought he was pretty healthy. I told her he was kind of a "tired" ferret, and didn't play a whole lot, but she said that was normal for a "senior". He had a very good appetite up til this day and a good weight of 1.06kg.

The next day, Coco and Callie came down with green slimy diarrhea and loss of appetite. Callie has made a full recovery, but I'm still concerned about Coco. I called the vet and she suspected stress colitis, but RX'd Flagyl just in case. Even though it was chicken-flavored, I couldn't get either one to take it, they threw a fit. The vet did not suspect ECE because she said she hadn't seen a case in years, and she also said no other ferrets were in the office that day.

So, I couldn't give the Flagyl. Based on the vet's advice, I have been feeding Coco a soup mixture of canned AD, sweet potato baby food, chicken baby food, and Pedialyte. His diarrhea has pretty much resolved and he started eating a few pieces of kibble again on his own, but he certainly is not eating enough to sustain himself and I still have to give him about 20cc of soup daily (in 2 feedings). He has lost weight (not sure how much), and he is even more lethargic than before. He has no interest in play whatsoever now. If I let him out of the cage he just finds another place to sleep. I thought because he was eating again that he was out of the woods but now I'm not so sure.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you.









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