Reno and big spleen:
 
There are a lot of reasons for an enlarged spleen in a ferret, but most of
the time it is not diagnostic to biopsy the spleen.  I see large spleens as
"normal" in many ferrets over 3 years of age.  It can be seen with adrenal
disease, insulinoma, heart disease, Aleutian disease and lymphoma.  If the
spleen takes up to 50% or more of the abdominal space or has enlarged
rapidly, then I recommend removal.  If the spleen is removed, it should be
biopsied.  Prior to the surgery, it is also good to have some blood work done
to point one in the right direction during surgery.  I also like to take
samples of other tissues while in an exploratory.  If a vet is not very
familiar with ferrets, he or she may not look at the adrenal glands (the
right one can be hidden if you don't know where to look) and the pancreas
during an exploratory.  I would have been very surprised if your ferret at
his age would not have had lesions in those areas.  I also like to get a
lymph node sample to check for lymphoma.  Do you have a complete blood cell
count prior to surgery on this guy?  Do you have a post surgical complete
blood cell count?  Has a fasting blood sugar (fast for 4-6 hours) been done
to check for lymphoma?  Do you have a urinalysis or blood electrolyte
results?  Was pathology done on the spleen and what were the results? Did the
x-ray show that the heart was okay? A ferret that is lethargic at his age may
have insulinoma, lymphoma, stomach foreign body, kidney disease, heart
disease, etc.  THere are many possibilities here.  If your vet would like to
consult on the case, have her FAX the information to us at 708-344-8194 and
we will see if we have any other suggestions.
Good Luck
Susan Brown, D.V.M.
 
Re:  Nutrical
 
Nutrical is loaded with sugar along with other things and shouldn't be used
to excess.  Ferrets are very prone to develop diabetes if they are exposed to
excessive amounts of sugar.  And believe me, we have had cases that were
created that way.  They also don't need all the other stuff in the Nutrical
on a daily basis.  Nutrical way never meant to be a daily life time snack.
Why don't we get away from this stuff and go to protein snacks, which is more
what ferrets were meant to eat.  Such as chicken or turkey baby food, meat
scraps. beef liver and eggs (either cooked or raw) and leave the fat on the
meat...its great for their coats and they have a high fat requirement.  You
have to get them used to this stuff and it may take a bit of doing, but once
hooked, they will go for it as well as Nutrical.  We should be starting them
with it young....remember they are CARNIVORES, not OMNIVORES, not SUGAR
JUNKIES....let's gear our snacks along the lines of what they were meant to
eat.  Even the daily small amount of fruit or vegetable (no more than 1
tsp/ferret) is healthier than Nutrical.  They would have obtained a small
amount of plant matter in the stomach of the prey that they would have eaten
in the wild.
Susan Brown, DVM
 
[Posted in FML issue 0802]