To Paula Smith:
 
>Five days later Phoenix, another ferret, visited.  Phoenix has been over
>once before.  Two days later, exactly one week after the vet visit, green
>diarrhea.  Lethargy.  First Kitka then 12 hours later Char too.
 
Paula - This sure down sound like ECE to me.  Visit from another feret - two
days later - runny stools, no appetite, etc.  I would stay with the
Amoxicillin - Chlormaphenicol is of limited usefulness in ferrets except for
one disease which ahs totally different symptoms.  The weakness in the back
legs is probably just an indication of the lack of nutrition, etc in Kitka.
 
The most important thing that you can do at this point is to give Kitka a
bland diet which she can digest.  The ECE virus attacks the cells lining the
villi in the intestine, so her ability to absorb food is way down.  My
personal choice in these instances is Gerber Chicken baby food - very highly
digestible low residue food, although you will have to force feed it the
first time until she develps a taste for it.
 
The elevated liver enzymes that you are seeing are simply a result of her
not eating and an accumulation of fat in the liver (she is mobilizing her
body fat stores to provide herself some nutrition.).  This doesn not
indicate hepatitis - a common misconception among practitioners.
 
Let's stay with the amoxi, subq fluids, and get her on a diet that she can
handle.  Her intestine at this point probably can't get much out of s/d or a
standard ferret chow.  Also, dry ferret food doesn't really go rancid - not
enough fat...
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
[Posted in FML issue 1421]