>Again, does anyone have any ideas as to what could be causing this?  If
>it was by chance caused by some form of endocarditis, and the Clavumox
>corrected it the first time, is it possible that because he was only on
>the Clavumox for two weeks, and I stopped it right as his heart was
>starting to speed up, that the infection could have returned, if that was
>it?  Another suggestion to me was lymphoma that could be moving around,
>has anyone heard of or had any experience with that in the heart?  He is
>still on 3mg of prednisone a day, but nothing else.
 
Dear X:
 
Dysrhythmias are one of the most frustrating things that you can
encounter.  It can be exceedingly difficult to pinpoint a lesion or
cause either in the antemortem or postmortem period.  While restrictive
cardiomyopathy is probably the most common cause of heart block in
ferrets, your instincts about lymphoma and or endocarditis are sound.
However, lymphoma generally doesn't migrate - it just grows, and any
respite from block would be extremely unlikely.  Endocarditis in ferrets
is usually not totally silent - it is most often accompanied by some
degree of leukocytosis, or some echocardiographic valvular alteration.
Not always, but often.
 
This is a difficult case, but you have, and continue to handle it in
admirable fashion.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3598]