From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2011-10-26 00:21:09 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Re: oxalate and struvite crystals
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
A bit on all three types of urinary stones (uroliths):
Medications vary with stone type. *****Your ferret may be helped by an acidifier and by antibiotics, and longterm may be especially helped by a change in diet, and not only now, but after the problem has cleared up. Go with a food high in animal protein even though that will cost more.*****
Wow, back when (simultaneously) we had two ferrets develop cystine stones when we upped the protein the diet we used to have to send the specimens to any of several universities to get the type. Cystine stones are very different from others and we successfully prevented those stones from reoccurring by taking the protein levels to no higher than 35%. The ferrets lived decent life spans (around 7 years so good but not great) without the stones coming back and died of other causes (a fourth and final kidney problem for one who began life with multiple urinary tract issues, and adrenal carcinoma for the other). If cystine is the only problem then there can be other approaches, but ferrets who get cystine stones can have problems with 3 other animo acids in the COLA group: Cystine, ornithine, lysine, and arginine. With a tendency to cystine stones the urine pH has to be brought up, made more alkaline. NONE of that will help you, but it might help someone else.
Struvite stones and oxalate stones are far more often seen in ferrets than struvite and have entirely different approaches than struvite. We personally have never dealt with either of those two.
Struvite stones can be causes by food too high in vegetable protein. They can be caused by urinary tract infections. The reasons these can cause those stones is because they raise the pH of the urine too high and the urine needs to be more acidic than it is in those ferrets. Then certain minerals crystalize out, especially magnesium, ammonium and phosphate which special diets for stones limit. Acidifiers may be used, too.
Calcium oxalate stones are another matter but share one of the causes: too much plant protein in the diet. In treating humans with these stones there is controversy recently about limiting calcium, with the aim instead to limit oxalate. (Isn't it useful sometimes to have a friend with the same recurrent problem?) Whether that is also the better approach for ferrets is something I do NOT know. The pH range in which calcium oxalate crystals can form is wide so they can happen in EITHER acidic or alkaline urine. Although they are more common in acidic urine the fact that this ferret has struvite stones says the urine has been alkaline.
Our ferrets both needed surgery, and it would have been great if Hilbert had been able to have a urinary catheter but ferrets are notoriously hard for getting one into for structural reasons and he was among the worst so a different approach was used for the sludge that had gotten into his urethra. He stayed at the hospital and they did cystos, removing his urine by needle (which sounds incredibly worse than it turned out to be). That allowed inflammation to go down and it also apparently caused some backwash from his urethra which allowed the sludge to leave. It saved his life and is a very important treatment option to remember for that situation. Some ferrets with their type of stone also need a medication that required monitoring but can be reasonably managed.
Medications vary with stone type. *****Your ferret may be helped by an acidifier and by antibiotics, and longterm may be especially helped by a change in diet, and not only now, but after the problem has cleared up. Go with a food high in animal protein even though that will cost more.*****
Type is essential to know how to tackle the uroliths so you did exactly the right thing getting that information, and HERE is a very useful article by Dr. Jerry Murray on that:
http://www.smallanimalchannel.com/ferrets/ferret-health/bladder-stones.aspx
Your vet can check the urine pH to monitor, and we used to have their bladders x-rayed every few years despite lack of symptoms to be safest.
On Oct 25, 2011, at 7:20 PM, Skye Bickar wrote:
> i found the actual crystals once the urine had dried and got a normal urine sample from a plastice box with nothing in it. sent both into antech and they gave the diagnosis of finding both crystals.
>
I am typing between fevers (and that is a good thing since I have been hypothermic with normal thyroid function for a half year and if my low body temp continues after this my adrenals have to be checked because the time it was being given to self-correct is over, so the ability to run a fever has us truly very happy despite my being ill since it is good news of my body doing what it should do). But before I got side-tracked I wanted to say that since I am sick CHECK ME, CHECK ME, CHECK ME and if there is a difference then realize I could easily -- very easily right now -- have erred. It always pays to use a grain of salt, but sometimes more than a grain sure makes sense.
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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