For cardiomyopathy info:
 
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
 
The FHL, FHL archives and FHL sections:
 
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
 
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/
 
To read details about the sonic weasel site:
http://www.smartgroups.com/message/readmessage.cfm?gid=1423922&messageid=345
 
A blood chemistry panel and ultrasound make sense at this point.
 
For vets' info on treating fleas use the parasites file in:
 
http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/ferrethealth
 
Yes, Mark, some vascillate a bit and that can make control with meds
harder.  Glad to hear the dose got updated and that the a surgical
consultation is set.  Best of luck!
 
Oh, It just hit me: go to the FHL archives I mention above and check into
the machines mentioned for home testing of glucose levels in case you
little one may benefit from one.  We've got ot get one, too, but it turns
out that they are affordable and can be found at any drug store.  There
was one which was greatly preferred by those who have had to use them but
off hand I can't recall which one.
 
>Crook, my 3 months male ferret is breathing very heavily.  after he plays
>a while (and boy he plays a lot) he starts to make loud breathing noises
>(I can hear him coming behind me, even without my hearing aids) We took
>him to the vet, who listened to his lungs, and said that his lungs are
>clear.
 
Get a chest x-ray.  We have had a ferret with pneumonia and pleurosy who
sounded clear but would have soon died without treatment.  More common is
ascites/edema.  The most commoon cause of this is cardiomyopathy (See
above.) followed by liver or kidney disease, sometimes a malignancy, or
other cause
 
>im using neeps superior choice right now but ive been wondering if tottle
>ferret has improved yet.  thanks
 
It's fine; they found the problem and corrected it.  Heck, multiple
ferret food makers have been in this position.  The responsible ones,
like Totally Ferret, track it down and replace bad foods.  The
irresponsible ones don't own up.  I can recall three or four different
food makers which had to track down problems at times and acted
responsibly about it.
 
Linda wrote:
>PLEASE, when you talk about pricing for Lupron shots, you must state not
>only the time release factor, but the actual dosage.  It varies greatly!
 
True.  We were going truly heavy-duty and at times I forget that some
won't be, though we are finding that vet costs are down with the new
practice to which one of vet has moved.  We followed Joe Martins to
Bellemead AH in central NJ.  The old practise has a new member who has
studied ferrets but we like a vet to have a lot of surgical background
with them when possible.  The decently lower costs than up here were a
pleasant surprise though the ride is a long one so we are well splitting
care btwn the two hospitals which is something we have never done before.
 
Sukie
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/ (Easily searched FHL archives)
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth (the FHL addy for
several weeks now)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list/files/ (Until FHL
moderators finish going through and moving the rest of the last year
and half's Files)
http://geocities.com/sukieslist  (which I badly need to update)
[Posted in FML issue 3855]