Murray wrote:
 
>I treated him with Ivamec oral and thought I had got on top of it.  But
>maybe not as I can not see into his cauli ear.  He lost an awful lot of
>weight and then lost the use of his back legs.  ......Shortly after he
>took ill I noticed He had quite bad ear mites.  I gave both these boys a
>good dose of Ivomec oral.  Coincidence i suppose, but they did start to
>improve and, well, I just wondered if earmites could trigger a
>neurological responce.
 
Inflammation resulting from severe ear mite infection can result in middle
and inner ear infections in rare cases and resultant neurological signs -
head tilt, difficult walking, etc.  Plus a cauliflower ear - may be a
severe ear infection...
 
However, you mention hindlimb weakness and weight loss - not what you would
expect with ear mites.  Unfortunately, these are very non-specific signs,
and can be due to any number of diseases, and I don't think that you should
stop your search here.  The other ferret exhibited activity which suggests
seizures, so a good physical with a blood glucose is probably in order.
 
Regarding the possibility of ivermectin toxicity - it is probably unlikely,
because ivermectin has a fair margin of safety, but you mention a "good
dose of ivermectin".  What exactly consitutes a good dose?
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3323]