>Melanie Hough <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: sick baby
>For about the past 4 days, my 2 yr old male hasn't acted like he feels well.
>He sounds like he is having trouble breathing.
 
Well, as you said, he could just have a cold, but with ferrets, things can
happen very fast, so vet attention is probably wise.  Our Foster still honks
from time to time, though this has been going on for a much longer period
with still no definitive answer.
 
Our 1 1/2- 2 yr.  old male rescue has had some acute honking coughs and some
serious congestion and labored breathing.  The events come and go and he is
generally very active but at times he is a little lethargic.  Some redness
appears around his eyes and nose, and on a few occasions a mild fever
appears present.  Here's a breakdown of what's been done so far:
 
vaporizer - no effect
industrial air cleaner-no effect
Amoxi-no effect
Baytril- no effect
Nizoral( a fungicide)- no effect
predisone- small effect
 
x-rays- two showed very severe congestion, while two others showed none.
sonogram- no abnormality
basic cbc- no abnormality
culture (stool)- negative
culture(throat)-some yeast
heart worm test- negative
 
possible diagnosis to date:
heart worm
asthma
fungi
allergy
overweight
tumor
next step--Foster is going in for a "throat flush" next week to get a better
specimen.  Since he needs to be under for this, this was not first choice.
 
hope this helps in some way,
best wishes,
until next time,
alphachi
[Posted in FML issue 2055]