Just wanted to follow up on some of the emails regarding C. Diff. And
Wolfy, I'm so sorry about your father's passing.

In Nov. 2008, I took Slinky to his vet b/c of smelly diarrhea. She
tested his poop and determined there was an overgrowth of the bacteria,
C. Diff. In a nutshell, the way my vet explained it- C. Diff is a "bug"
of opportunity. It normally exists in their intestines, but when
conditions are right (or wrong?) the flora can flourish and too much
of a good thing is bad. She doesn't know what causes it to happen, and
it's not something that she has seen in other ferrets. Slinky had not
been around anyone (person or animal) with C. Diff issues, so I don't
think it was passed to him.

I have 3 other ferrets and asked C. Diff is contagious. She told me
my other ferrets should be fine, and to date- they are. Now I assume-
*ASSUME*- this is because my other ferrets are healthy. If their immune
systems become compromised, maybe they would be susceptible.. Much like
patients in a hospital- it spreads quickly among those with weakened
immune systems.

It has been really rough trying to find a balance of food, meds, and
supplements to keep Slinky healthy. At 1st he would only go about 2-3
days off meds before the diarrhea would start up. Once I thought I was
going to lose him, but thankfully we were able to find an animal ER
with an exotics vet on staff that was able to help him. The ER vet
also determined Slinky had an overgrowth of C. Diff bacteria in his
intestines by testing his poop.

We're now going on 2-3 months between treatments. And of course, I
don't like giving him such strong meds but without them, the diarrhea
would certainly kill him. Any change to his diet can be disastrous. I
have to be extremely careful even when integrating a new bag of food-
same brand, same flavor.

Now this is just my experience. I just wanted to let Minky's parent
know that this is a possibly, something to consider, but based on
the last post- doesn't sound like what my Slinky has at all.

Thanks,
Tara L. Elmore

Tara L. Elmore
Quantum Staffing
3902 Northside Drive, Ste 2A
Macon GA 31210
478.254.3043

[Posted in FML 6760]