> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: HCG shots
>
> To Cindy Sooy:
 
>         One thing that should be considered is why the animal was given this
> shot.  Could she have been so far along in her cycle that she already had a v
ery
> low blood count and died of anemia or other complications of uninterrupted
> estrus?  Or could something else have happened altogether, as the animal was
not
> seen for 48 hours.
>
>         Or could there be another story and the death is simply blamed on the
> HCG shot?
>
>         No, I'm not convinced a single HCG shot properly dosed and administer
ed,
> is lethal in ferrets.
 
Dr. Williams,
 
(I didn't read Cindy's post, so forgive if any of this is
duplicate information)
 
I know the owners in question, and spoke with the mother for some
time.  I can honestly say that they are the single most doting owners
I have ever met.  (and that says a lot, given the people I know)  When
Sneakers sneezed, she went to the vet.  (well, a bit of an exaggeration,
but not much.)  They called for her vet appointment the day they
noticed her going into heat.  She was not in heat any longer than
2 - 2 1/2 weeks.  (more like 1 1/2 to 2)  They lost their first ferret
because noone bothered to tell them that a female will die if
she's not bred/brought out of heat.  So they were VERY conscious of
this issue.  And, I know that they would have noticed if she were
ill.  Especially since she was an only ferret, and they could monitor
her intake and output closely.
 
I am certain that this was a healthy ferret going into the shot.
And the vet, who I trust as a very capable vet, gave her a good
exam beforehand.
 
Now, I don't discount an infection.  It just seems highly unlikely.
Given how sudden it was, with no prior symptoms whatsoever, it
sounds like anaphylactic (sp?) shock to me.  :(
 
Unfortunately, they found her late Saturday.  They would have had
her autopsied, but after a few hours of having to walk by her
body, they couldn't take any more and decided to take her out and
bury her next to Bandit.
 
I spoke with my vet about it last night (Dr. Flack, studied under
Dr. Brown, I believe).  She looked at a bottle of the medication.
It is synthetic (not animal), so she said that it is very unlikely
to cause a reaction.  But, not impossible.  Do you agree with that?
Is it possible we are just looking at a 'one in a million' case
here?
 
Now, for my news:
 
Percy has some sort of diarrhea problem.  I ran her to the vet last
night, she was getting dehydrated.  :(  So, I'm giving her sub-Q
fluids, antibiotics, and kaopectate 2x a day.  :(
 
At least one other of my little ones (either Bree or Popcorn) has
it too.  Since neither one is showing any other symptoms I have them
seperated today to figure out who it is.  I guess I'll be running
to the vet again tonight.
 
It's a normal-colored diarrhea, so I don't think it's the mystery
green diarrhea problem.  And, Percy seemed much better this morning.
So, hopefully all will be well.  I guess since Percy's getting to be
an old lady (6), it's just hitting her harder than it normally
would.
 
- Nancy
 
Nancy Hartman     Internet - [log in to unmask]      GEnie - n.hartman4
President, Delaware Valley Ferret Club | CIS Grad Student, U. of Delaware
 ***  Caregiver to Percy, Bree, Popcorn, & Scuttlebutt the ferrets  ***
  "We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals" - Kant
 
[Posted in FML issue 0951]