From:
"Jeff"
Date: 2011-09-15 20:12:09 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] IBD & Adrenal Disease
To: <shron@rocketmail.com>
Hi Shron:
My boy Dozer has been having similar digestion/diarrhea problems for almost 3 months. What has finally helped fix things (with IBD determined to be the cause), is a low dose of prednisolone daily. I sure donât like giving him pred daily, but after having tried everything else, itâs better than the alternative, which is bad digestion, diarrhea, and poor absorption of nutrients. Heâs doing much better with it, and in time Iâll try to wean him off of it, or to lower the dose, although itâs likely that heâll need to remain on it indefinitely.
The flagyll youâre using is probably doing the same thing, which is calming down his digestive tract so that it works normally. If all else has failed, then the flagyll is worth trying for a longer period of time. In a few months you can always try weaning her off of it, after consulting with the vet. Does she take the flagyll fairly easily, or fight against it? I have heard that there is an alternative form of flagyll, called metranidazole benzoate, that is much more palatable to ferrets. You can always ask the vet about this.
As far as the adrenal disease, you should definitely add a melatonin implant. I always use one in addition to either Lupron or Deslorelin. The melatonin works in a different way and helps with the control over the tumor growth, as well as with hair regrowth.
One thing you have to keep in mind is that itâs possible that Minky has a large adrenal tumor that is just too much for the Lupron and Deslorelin to fully handle. Or, itâs possible that thereâs a carcinoma. One of my boys, Pop, had adrenal disease and also had diarrhea over a long period of time. I finally got the diarrhea under control with regular low-dose prednisolone, but it turns out that the cause of his IBD was a very large right adrenal tumor that was pressing on his intestines and causing constant irritation, with the result being the IBD. This possibility may exist for Minky, and the only way you can really find out is with an ultrasound. I wish I had done the ultrasound for Pop sooner. By the time I did, his right tumor was too big for surgery and had compromised the vena cava.
Jeff
In Loving Memory of Neo, Trinity, Morphy, Possum, Pip, Pop, Sabrina, Minnie Mouse, Hunny, Misty, Frodo, Baggins, and Mr. Parker
Caring for Luna, Baby Girl, Dozer, Boomer, and Zoomer
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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