From:
Andrew Yong
Date: 2011-09-06 08:37:18 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Re: Ferret diagnosis
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
This is an update on my previous emails, unfortunately it's not good.
My 5-6 year-old male ferret is still alive, I took him to a new vet who had
dealt with ferrets when he was working in the States, and he took more blood
tests and decided that it wasn't insulinoma - blood glucose came back normal
while he was on pred and again after he was taken off pred. The only
symptoms now are an enlarged spleen, lethargy and slow plodding walking. He
is a heavy 1.1 kg, which is his normal weight, but he still has a big solid
belly. The vet says he can't do anything more, as he's not a ferret
expert. He (the ferret) also sometimes squeaks when I pick him up, which he
never used to do before. I wonder if his spleen is causing discomfort.
Both ferrets have been living together back home up the hill because the
heat in the city was one of the things that I think triggered his illness. I
had just given in my notice at work so I could move back home. A few days
ago when I was visiting, his sister, with whom he has lived with the whole
of their lives, escaped via a door that wasn't shut properly and was killed.
We found her in a drain at the bottom of a steep drop. She was a happy and
playful ferret, and looked so much younger, despite them being the same age.
He stopped playing a long time ago, but they still slept together. I'm
utterly distraught and I can't imagine how he must feel. He gets let out to
play 2-3 times a day, but since his illness he just walks around at his slow
pace for about half an hour before going back to eat and sleep. But this
lethargy seems to be exacerbated now his sister is gone.
We were expecting her to outlive him, and I was ready to go find another
ferret to play with her and keep her company, but now that she is gone, at
his age and frailty I don't know how I'm going to introduce him to another
ferret.
If I was still in England, I could bring him to a ferret shelter and let him
pick a friend. Both of them came from a shelter there when they were two.
The last time we were there he came across an unaltered male in a cage who
had just come in and he dooked so loudly it was unbelievable. But out here
in Malaysia, there are no shelters, and the only ferrets available for sale
are under a year old. Do I risk buying him another ferret or two with whom
he won't get along and who might bully him? Someone has just offered to sell
me a 6-month old unaltered male, but I would have to have him neutered
before I took him in, and I think a female would probably be a safer bet.
I know there won't be any easy answers, but any points of view would be
great.
A.
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