From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2011-06-15 18:24:49 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Re: Undiagnosed blood in urine.
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
The following tests make sense and I will say why:
1. X-ray the abdomen to see if there is a large urolith in the bladder
2. Have any crystals, sludge, or stones (urolith) sent to a urolith lab
3. See what pH the urine is
4. Have a CBC AND a Chemistry Panel done.
5. See if the urine is concentrating.
6. Run a culture.
7. Perhaps an ultrasound of the kidneys.
Those will tell you if there are uroliths and what KIND of urolith they are, which is ESSENTIAL because different types of uroliths need different approaches. In case of two urolith types the opposite approach is needed, with one (struvite) requiring that the animal protein portion of the diet be increased, while another (cystine) makes it necessary to try a diet with no more than 35% protein and sometimes even some meds are needed.
You will also be able to best assess the state of the kidneys by using some of these approaches together, including the urine concentration.
Running a culture will allow you to find out what TYPE(s) of bacteria may be present and even run antibiotic challenges to see if the bacteria are antibiotic resistant and which antibiotics work for them.
Make sure that the ferret is not getting into anything that can cause urine to turn red without blood; an example is Aloe. Ferrets should never be allowed to have aloe. It can be poisonous for pets, and even in smaller amounts it can color urine red, including in humans, if it is eaten. You might want to pay the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center to advise on this score.
Is the urine orange or is it AMBER? If is it amber then the liver and gall bladder health have to be considered. Is the bilirubin number up?
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
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