Oops!  I forgot to tell you that the vet prescribed amoxicilian (sp?) which
I had to give Jitterbug orally twice a day.  I think I remember people whose
ferret had ECE also being on amoxicilian so if your ferret has either ECE OR
heliobacter it would be a good antibiotic to be on.  Actually I thing they
describe amoxicilan as a "broad spectrum" antibiotic so it should cover a
wide range of possibilities.  The most important thing though is getting
Slinky to eat and keeping him well-hydrated (even more important than
eating).  You do this by giving him fruit flavored pedialyte (generic brand
is fine, found in pharmacys and some big grocery stores near the baby stuff)
with a syringe (that is the plastic part, no needle).  Oral syringes are
also found by the baby stuff.  You have to be careful to aim the syringe
sort of towards the side of the back of the mouth (not straight back) and
depress it slowly so they will have time to drink.
 
Most of all, I would like to say that I believe the reason Jitterbug is
alive is because I pressed the vet to let me take her home as soon as
possible.  I hand fed her (she sometimes wouldn't eat except off of my
fingertips), made her drink a lot of pedialyte, and made her feel loved.  At
the vet they either had her on an IV or just left food with her and she
would NOT eat there.
 
Sorry I went on, and on about this, but ferrets die very quickly if they
stop eating and I wanted to make sure you got all the advice I had to give.
 
Best wishes for all sick fuzzies,
 
Rebecca, Monkey and Jitterbug
[Posted in FML issue 1836]