>From:    John & Shannon <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: heartworms
>
>>She coughs loudly and about once every couple of hours.  According to
>>my ferret bible (Ferrets for Dummies), a weight gain combined with loud
>>coughs can be a sign of heartworms.
>
>I had never heard about weight gain & coughing being signs of heartworms.
 
A heart condition can cause fluid in the lungs (cough) and abdomen (weight
gain).  I'm almost positive that Heartgard will NOT kill adult heartworms.
If it did and your ferret actually had heartworms, your ferret almost
certainly would have died as a result of the death of the heartworms.
 
Even under veterinarian controlled conditions, and with all the right
medications, eliminating heartworms in ferrets is extremely risky.  Dr.
Kemmerer (Who is in Florida and is probably one of the recognized experts
in heartworms in ferrets) reported in one her articles only a 50% success
rate in the treatment of heartworms in 40 ferrets.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael Janke, [log in to unmask]
* South Florida Ferret Help Line, 305-752-7040
*
* Website:  http://www.miamiferret.org
* Adrenal/Insulinoma web site: http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
*
* Ferret Health List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
[Posted in FML issue 3582]