Thanks for your response to my IBD questions, Dr Williams.
 
I know that Noobie does not have ECE.  He lived with two of my other
ferrets as well as played with all of my group (consisting of 10 ferrets)
and none ever showed any signs of the icky poos or lethargy that he has
exhibited.  ECE has never been in my house (keeping fingers crossed with
this statement).  He has also been around other ferrets - none of which
showed any signs of catching what Noobie has.
 
I have since separated him so that I can monitor his eating, drinking,
and pooping more closely.  Plus, the stress of having my other ferrets
picking at him when he wasn't feeling well seemed to aggrivate his symptoms
further.  Noobie now lives in my bedroom in his own private cage but
continues to play in my ferret room with the gentler of my ferrets.
 
I am still wondering though.  IBD is considered a diagnosis in other
species, right?  And hasn't untreated IBD been positively linked to
lymphoma in cases where it was left untreated?  Perhaps research just isn't
moving quickly enough in this field to find if these facts carry over to
ferrets as well?  Lymphoma is a big killer in the ferret world, is it not?
Perhaps more research in this area as well as the treatment protocols that
are being used for IBD can actually prevent more cases of lymphoma in
ferrets?  I'm thinking that a reputable vet/pathologist such as yourself
would be a good person at heading up an "ironclad" research protol for
this type of possible disease.  But who am I to add more work to your
agenda? :-)
 
The treatment plan that Noobie is on right now is Imuran suspension - .2ccs
daily.  He began treatment taking it once every 3 days...and as he was not
responding, it was increased to every other day and then to daily.  We are
hoping that as he continues to improve, to be able to decrease his dosage
back to once every 3 days.
 
Slowly, he has been responding to the Imuran treatment.  He now plays more
with the other ferrets rather than just laying there and allowing them to
pick on him.  He also runs and dooks and is beginning to act more ferrety
again.  Additionally, his poops have finally taken on a more appropriate
appearance.  He is not eating kibble at all and has not done so in the past
6 weeks.  After failing with chicken babyfood, I switched to turkey, which
he seems to enjoy more.  I've been feeding him turkey babyfood 5 times a
day and occasionally mixing it with Hill's a/d.
 
At first I had to feed him via syringe and his teeth would grind as he
would try to refuse to eat.  Eventually, he began to eat off of my
finger...then a spoon...then a saucer - I followed the advice as per your
instructions on how to feed a sick animal in the article on your website.
(thanks by the way!) Now he is eating with little help from me at all.
Typically, I need to start him off with feeding him from my finger and
lead him to the saucer where his meal awaits him.  He still refuses
kibble - and will not even eat the babyfood if I sneak it in (even if I
grind it up in my blender).
 
I understand your hesitation with this diagnosis...but don't new medical
breakthroughs have to start somewhere?  Is this not a good place to start?
So many ferrets with similar biopsy results have responded to this same
medication treatment.  There has to be something going on here.
 
With Noobie's case, ECE was considered...but the biopsies were inconsistant
with a diagnosis for ECE.  Again, Noobie has shared litterpans with all of
my other ferrets - none have shown any symptoms of what Noobie has.
 
The vet that I have been taking Noobie to is a VERY reputable vet in the
US.  I find it hard to believe that he has little experience with anything
ferret related as he sees SOOOO many ferrets.  I actually drove 4 hours to
see him about Noobie.  Many others in my area do this as well when we need
an expert's opinion or surgerical know-how on things for our ferrets.
 
It is very confusing for me - as a VERY cautious and loving ferret owner -
to see two such highly respected vets in the ferret community at total
opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to this diagnosis.  I only want
the absolute best for my ferrets - and I try and learn everything I can.  I
understand that there is bad research out there (My field is in psychiatric
research and I can totally understand the idea of "bad" research.) But
perhaps there is something to be learned in here?  Perhaps IBD is prevelant
in ferrets - just not totally understood yet?
 
I have been a ferret owner for only two years - but in these two years, I
have watched big changes take forth with ferret treatment (mainly in the
adrenal arena).  How can new findings be learned about ferret treatment
when there are so many others out there who remain close-minded about new
diagnoses in ferrets?
 
Thank you so much for your time.  I certainly hope I haven't insulted you -
I only want to learn and in reading your responses to IBD, it has gotten me
greatly confused with Noobie's diagnosis and the prospect that IBD could
possibly exist out there.
 
Again, thank you!
Lisa Shortley and Noobie too :-)
[Posted in FML issue 3287]