>Imuran is very inexpensive and a $35 bottle lasts for about 3 months.
>It is an immuno depressive drug, suppresses the immune system, so I just
>don't let them get in situations where they are exposed to other ferrets
>and can pick something up.
 
Hey, Kim, I've got an interesting one for you.  Scooter's IBD
(Inflammatory Bowel Disease) did not respond at all to Prednisone.
Imuran worked for a long while, then he had to have Imuran with
antibiotics for it to work, then it just didn't work.  Prednisone was
tried again, and as before it made no difference.  The body processes
Prednisolone somewhat differently so after consultations that was tired.
It works (at least so far).
 
Now, it would be good if his stomach problem (deformity related in part)
were as easily dealt with.
 
(Oh, for those who don't know the disorder called IBD in ferrets differs
from the one called IBD in humans...)
 
Like your little one he also had his liver values all go off and he also
once got pancreatitis secondary to his IBD.  Inflammation of neighboring
structures is not unusual with it so liver problems, pancreatic problems
and lympho can be seen secondary to it.
 
IBD is a nasty thing that is secondary to ECE and other possible causes
of severe and prolonged GI tract inflammation, and it itself can lead to
other medical problems.  Somewhere down the line an ECE vaccine will have
such benefits for ferrets...
 
A., I'd worry about possible aspiration with the fur ball meds using a
syringe.
 
>Rabies in ferrets is another example of an extremely small number of
>ferrets used in a single series of experiments, yet the conclusions were
>accepted with little doubt or verification.
 
Actually, the first rabies shedding study was done in France and then
there were later ones done in both Germany and France.  (These were
preceded by American work that showed that ferrets don't contract rabies
by eating infected tissue.) The European studies were followed by a
series of CDC experiments which went through a wide range of rabies
strains over several years.  The total number of ferrets was small
compared to the number who had previously died for no good reason due
to bites or alleged bites, but it was not an insignificant number of
animals even though it did very rapidly save more ferrets lives than were
lost to the work.  So if you go by strains there have been at least 6
strains tested, and if you call a series the work done per country then
there are 3 series for the viral shedding work.
 
Val, I've thought about the bandaging aspects of fur, the UV protection,
the water shedding, and the insulating benefits, but NEVER about it as a
fire shield...
 
Scots and Scottish, not Scotch (though perhaps a bit of latter while
reacting this exchange of others):
>McKrackin' is now your sworn enemy and you shall see what a REAL
>Highlander can do when angered.
 
LOL!  Will this get like the Scottish folk song about what a Scotsman
wears under his kilt?  (Answer: a blue ribbon -- but you have to
search out the song to get the joke...)  May Angus bring the both of
you good dreams.
 
My mom's uncle would have fainted had he known that my Middlelands
grandmother would eventually make me childhood outfits from his Black
Watch Tartan...  (Dad's dad's side has been here for ages; Mom's side
is more recent, and among them all I am quite a mutt.)
[Posted in FML issue 3962]