Hi ferret lovers,
 
I am new to this list, and I need some medical advise on a few things.
 
I guess I need to go back to the beginning of the story.  I lost my 3 yr
old ferret Maggie Jane, 1-19-05.  I had to euthanize her because she was
in very bad shape.  I found her in her cage 3 days after I got back in
town, very lethargic, and I couldn't get her to eat or drink.  I had
been out of town for about 2 weeks, and remembered before I left she had
some watery diarrhea, and I didn't think anything about it because she
was eating, drinking, and acting fine at the time.  I took her to the
vet, and she put her on antibiotics, but she kept getting worse, and a
week later, she was so bad we made THE decision.  In the hospital, the
vet said she had green diarrhea.  I felt horrible, and very guilty that
I blew off the symptoms, and possibly could have saved her.
 
My vet did open her up after she died, and saw that her gut was a mess.
She also had an adrenal tumor.  We thought at first that she might have
gotten a secondary bacterial infection in her gut, and this is what
killed her.  When I asked if she thought if my other 2 girls would get
what she had, my vet said she thought that they would have already come
down with something since MJ had the symptoms at least 2-3 weeks possibly
longer before she got sick.
 
I missed MJ terribly and 5 days later went in a pet store to get
supplies, and they had just gotten some babies in.  Of course I knew I
shouldn't have picked him up, but when he slobbered me in wet ferret
kisses, I knew I couldn't leave him there, so I brought Willy home.  I
introduced him to my older females, just for a few minutes, and when they
bit him, I decided I better wait for another day.  Unfortunately the next
day(less than 8 hours later) my oldest ferret Louisa, (7 yrs) ended up
with watery diarrhea.  (I isolated Willy and kept him in another room,
and tried to be careful, washing hands when I touched my girls, etc.)
We immediately put Louisa on antibiotics, amoxi, chlorenphenacol
(spelling?) and metronidazol.  She was eating at this time and acting
fine.  5 days later she was throwing up and not eating.  She was in the
hospital for 2 days when my other female Thelma (6 yrs) got the same
thing.  Then Willy's poop started looking runny, green and mucousy.  My
vet suspected ECE, because of the contageous factor of it, but I couldn't
figure out how MJ had gotten it in the first place.  Maggje Jane was
never around any other ferrets, and neither was I.  Even now March 4,
Louisa, and Thelma are still on antibiotics., although they are eating
and acting pretty normally now.  Louisa poop though is still looking
like bird seed, and Thelma's is starting to look normal.  Willy was on
antibiotics for 10 days, ending about 2 weeks ago, but now he is not
eating very well and he is on meds again..
 
I guess my questions are, does this sound like ECE to you who have had
experience with this disease?  The information on the web states that
the incubation is short and animals get the disease quickly after being
exposed, which means Louisa had been exposed back in Dec (end of) and
didn't come down with the disease till end of Jan.  My vet told me to
keep Willy isolated from the girls, because he can get reinfected from
them again.  I have read conflicting information, some saying they build
up an immunity and others saying they can get reinfected.  (I am assuming
that they gave Willy the virus and not the other way around, but maybe
we know nothing and he did bring it in)  I know he is being exposed from
me because I can't possibly change clothes etc 3-4 times a day that I
have to medicate my girls.  I want to at least put him up in my room
with the girls so I can keep an eye out on his habits like eating etc.
 
Do you all think I should keep him isolated?  I try and bring him out
for several hours a day from his cage, but it is getting harder to keep
him in the bathroom.  He keeps escaping and my dog has almost caught him.
Also I have also read they shed the virus for at least 6 months.......he
is going to get very lonely by himself.  (I am also mad at myself for
bringing all of this bad situation)
 
If some of you who have had experience with this disease can share your
experiences with me I'd appreciate it greatly.  How long should I expect
to have Louisa's poop look like birdseed?  I know she isn't absorbing all
nutrients and have been giving her ferrevite too.  Thanks for any advise
you can give me.
 
nancy
[Posted in FML issue 4809]