Hi all,

I know it's been a long time since I've written anything, but I have a
boy at the vet's right now and I have a few questions that I'd like to
hear your thoughts on.

Long story short, Finley (my dear albino, going on seven this year)
showed extreme lethargy, shallow breathing, yellowy eyes and nose, and
felt way too cold. I knew enough to totally freak out at that stage,
and sure enough, the vet found him to be anaemic and having abdominal
pain. They put him on heat and fluids and took some blood, resulting
in the knowledge that his spleen is very swollen (or has possibly has
something attached to it), and is destroying his red blood cells.

I poked around on online and in the archives, and it seems that this
would be what's called 'hypersplenism' - correct? Alternatively,
reading the archives also suggests that hypersplenism is very uncommon
or actually just one unique case. Can anyone give me more info about
this? Is there some other condition that can be expected to cause both
the swelling and the anaemia?

Either way, as I understand it, the vet will probably say she needs to
remove his spleen. I'm reading that it's fairly common for ferrets to
have their spleens out, so if any of you who have dealt with this
before can give me some advice, I'd be very grateful. Does a
spleen-less ferret just carry on as normal? Do they require regular
medication or any special treatment I should think about budgeting
for? Does the process increase risk factors for any other
diseases/conditions?

I am so very, very grateful right now that Finley is still alive - our
last two losses were so sudden that, by the time we saw the signs,
there was nothing we could do. Anything you can tell me would be
greatly appreciated - my husband and I are very skeptical people, so
learning and gathering information is sort of our coping mechanism <:)

Thanks in advance from concerned ferret parents.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Fox Lee: The Girl Your Mother Warned You About
http://hypercrescendo.net/foxlee/fls/
http://www.furbiddenrealms.com
http://blurty.com/users/leechimera/

"I don't put them on ignore, personally, because it's against my 
personal philosophy. ;p (blocking out the bits of the world you don't 
like doesn't make the world a better place, it just makes you a little 
more ignorant of how bad it is. ;p)" - Jason Heavensrun, wise man

[Posted in FML 6955]