Hello everyone,

I am in need of some opinions about one of my older boys.

A little history on Deuce first...he is white with black eyes, a bit
overweight (enjoys eating :o) ), and we estimate his age to be around
6 yrs. He was found in a local park a couple of years ago, and given
to me because the people that found him knew I had ferrets. Deuce has
never been a very active ferret, preferring to snuggle than play,
though every once in a while, he will bounce around with my other
super mellow fellow, Merlin.

Three nights ago, I got home from work around 7 pm, went and let
everyone out of the cage for free-range time, and noticed that Deuce
just didn't act right. He pretty much just laid there, whereas everyone
else barreled out of the cage to run. I picked him up, cuddled him a
bit thinking that he was just not awake yet, and then put him on the
floor. He took about 4 steps, then his back end fell over and he just
laid there. Freckles came and jumped on his head, causing him to get up
a bounce twice, and then he just laid there. Still thinking that he was
just trying to wake up (he has done that before -- not often), I left
him alone for a couple of minutes. When I checked on him again, he was
still just laying there, so I picked him up, took him to the living
room with me, and just held him. For the most part, he just laid limply
in my arms, every once in a while flopping his head around. Around
8:15, he started open-mouth breathing and drooling, and his feet were
bright red, though his body was not abnormally warm to the touch. About
every 2 -5 minutes, he would thrash his head around, making a "ck ck ck
ck" sound in rapid recession that lasted about 1 -- 5 seconds. Other
than the occasional thrashing of his head area, he was unresponsive --
his eyes did not dilate or blink, there was no resistance in his limbs,
and I noticed that you could clearly feel an enlarged spleen.

At about 9, I finally found a vet that would see him, though
they admitted they were only ferret-familiar, not necessarily
ferret-knowledgeable. And yes, I had had a clinic previously lined up
for emergencies that had guaranteed there would always be someone able
to see ferrets, however, they informed me there was no one available to
see a ferret that night -- a completely different issue that is being
pursued. Deuce presented with a temperature of 104.9, and his thrashing
fits were occurring about every 1.5 minutes, and the drooling had
gotten worse. The vet admitted that he had very little idea what could
have caused it, but we opted to go ahead and get x-rays and a complete
blood panel done. They originally wanted to keep him for a couple of
days and then run the tests, but I opted out of that because they said
that I wouldn't be able to see him, and they had no idea what was
really wrong -- quite frankly, I couldn't bear the thought of him dying
there alone. While we were waiting for the test results, they put him
in a incubator with ice packs and a small amount of oxygen being piped
in. After 15 minutes, the tech came in and told us that he was already
perking up and starting to walk a little. We got the test results about
40 minutes after they originally took him; the x-rays show a huge
spleen, a completely empty stomach (which is very unlike Deuce), but
no blockages or other abnormalities. The blood test showed a lowish
blood glucose level, though not dangerously low, and the vet said it
was more than likely caused by the "seizure-like episode" that Deuce
experienced. He had no idea what could have caused the episode, but he
was adamant that that was what happened. He also told me that it was
possible that it would happen again, and soon, and that I should keep
Deuce isolated from the others, and keep his temperature down.

I took him to a local ferret vet yesterday (not my preferred vet, but
someone that could get him in) and more blood work was done. The
conclusion is that he is healthy, but again, this vet has no idea what
could have caused this, and if anything should be pursued about the
spleen issue. Upon getting home from the E-vet, Deuce did eat a bit
and drink, and his appetite has steadily increased, and he is sleeping
a lot -- but is responsive if you wake him up. He did have a bit of an
irritated tooth, but the vet said that wasn't of any concern. With any
luck, he will have an appointment at a well-known ferret vet on
Saturday; but I would like some opinions as to what I experienced with
Deuce. Do I have to worry about more "episodes" like this soon? How
long should he be isolated from the others? Any ideas what caused this?
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for
hearing me out.

Thanks,
Betsy and The FuzzButts: Merlin, Deuce, Chewy, and Freckles

[Posted in FML 6562]