Here is a pair of messages I wrote to the FHL I would like to  get your
reactions opinions too.

- - -

Hello FHL --

Rico who seemed to make a spectacular recovery might now be taking a
downturn. I hope I am overreacting. However,

(1)
I missed a day of treatment yesterday, but didn't worry since this
round of treatment had been going on for 12 days, and most people have
advised 10 days; we have planned to do 14 days. Recently, however, I
read that we should keep it up for 21 days.

So,
(a) Would a one-day lack of medication cause problems?

(b) Do you think the course should be longer than 10 days, especially
if we have a particularly virulent strain acting?

(2) The last two ferrets who died took a downturn just as I thought
they were certainly recovering. Even the first one who was so very
sick made a certain amount of recovery before going downhill.

Rico has a mild-diarrhea stool (normal color), and it seems to have
undigested food in it. Also Rico is less active.

But the thing I did not see with the other sick ferrets is that he is
eating a huge amount.

This eating is something he did a couple/few weeks before the first
ferret got sick and died -- he lost a lot of weight and ate constantly
but did not gain till a few/couple of weeks had passed. (Sorry I dn't
have the timeframes clearer -- those time is uncomfortably elastic,
looking back.)

We have wormed all the ferrets(, using the treatment used for giardia.
I'll ask our vet for the dosage).

Have you ever seen this heavy eating in connection w illness?

Do you suspect any other illness from reading this and my earlier
posts?

- - -
OK, Rico just ate about 1/3 cup of food and then pooped the same as
the last time -- mushy and including undigested food, and kind of
chicken-meat colored -- this has become their usual stool color.

Doesn't this seem like an excessive amout of food? He is an average
sized Marshall ferret -- a couple of pounds before all this down and up
weight. He now seems to eat a similar amount several times a day. I'll
monitor it. The amount has increased a lot in the last couple of days.

The food is based on chicken gravy but it's not liquid -- a
medium-sized chicken (or two tiny chickens --depends on where we buy
them) is pressure-cooked and then ground w most of its organs, its
eggs-in-process and some of its bones; 1/2 cup beef fat; a Tblsp
honey; a Tblsp olive oil; but no bran.

[Posted in FML 5961]