>Subject: Potpie sick
>(she got it from a friend's ferret)
>She came down with it last friday. Question #1: how long is the run of the
>virus?
 
    For a young healthy animal, about 3-4 days.  If there are other health
problems, it could be several weeks before she gets "over the hump".
 
>She first had green slimy stool, then tan grainy stool, and has had one
>green slimy stool since then. I've been feeding her chicken gerber's with
>crushed iam's kitten, and giving her as many cc's of pedialyte every
>hour/few hours as she'll stand. She doesnt seem to be dehydrated. Question
>#2: Am i missing anything?
 
    I usually recommend antibiotics like Amoxicillin to prevent a secondary
bacterial infection, especially in the older patients.
 
>For a while you could feel her spine - she's only 1 lb - but she seems to
>be putting on a bit of the weight she lost.  When will she get that weight
>back?
 
        Once again, tough to tell.  Many times, older ferrets that lose
large amounts of weight for any reason just don't gain it back.  It all
depends upon how much damage has been done to the intestine.  The more
damage, the less absorptive capacity the intestine has, and the longer it
will take to get that weight back.
 
>Question #3: Dr. Daldin gave me a drug called 'Pectin' for diarrhea. It
>being a virus and all, is there anything else Potpie needs for recovery?
>She .5cc's of Pectin every 8 hrs, but she's still got the diarrhea.
 
    Antibiotics would certainly ease my mind.  Pectin is a fiber compound
and may help diarrhea in some cases.  Other vets are using other drugs like
Centrine, Reglan, Pepto-Bismol.  They all may help with the diarrhea, and
also may not.  There really isn't one drug that we can count on to stop the
diarrhea.
 
>She's been sleeping a lot. This is probably a function of the boring
>convalescent cage i've got her in and her body fighting off icky bugs,
>but it still constitutes a behavior change...
 
    And a good behavior change in her circumstances.  All in all, it sounds
like she will do just fine.  The stools are getting better, she's eating,
and taking it easy.  While we're not out of the woods yet, I think she'll
be okay.
 
Bruce H. Williams, DVM         Dept. of Veterinary Pathology
Chief Pathologist, AccuPath    Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]         Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
                               [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1252]