To Chris Haas:
>I noticed he wasn't eating/drinking/pooping. So I seperated him from the
>rest to monitor him. I gave him some laxative, and when he did poop, it
>was very very dark brown (almost black) and like liquid. It looked like
>Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. So, on Monday, I had a stool sample analyzed
>to check for blood (i.e., Ulcer?). The vet found some red blood cells,
>but not enough for concern.
When the stol is black, the blood is digested. So you won't find a lot
of red blood cells in the stool. This doesn't mean there isn't an ulcer. I
would start with ulcer treatment on Bailey right away - the amoxicillin and
Carafate certainly won't hurt matters....
>On Wednesday, I had X-rays done to look for an instestinal blockage,
>nothing there either.
Normal Xrays have a low chance of picking up blockages unless they are
due to bone or metal. Most other tissues will not show up. If your vet is
pursuing this avenue, a barium contrast study is imperative in these
situations, and even if that is negative, you still can't rule out the
possibility of a blockage. With the signs and symptoms that Bailey is
showing, that would be my first thought, especially considering his age. If
he is continuing to worsen, I would have to recommend and abdominal
exploratory before he gets too much worse. I would rather go in and look
around, than play it too conservative and see a ferret slip away due to
inaction...
>Still, things weren't looking any better. Today, I found him in his cage
>laying on his stomach with his head hanging out over the hammock, and when
>I got him up, he started to vommit, but was only throwing up stomach acid.
Let's also make sure that he is urinating.....urinary blockages can
cause similar signs - vomiting, ulcers, excessive spraying....
Hope he's feeling better soon....
--
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP Department of Veterinary Pathology
[log in to unmask] Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
(202) 782-2600/2602 Washington, D.C. 20306-6000
[Posted in FML issue 1335]
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