So many questions in the last issue:
To Ann Davis - I, for one, would like to see the survey results on
FERVAC-D.
On the questions of heartworms and ferrets -
Yes, heartworms are very dangerous to ferrets. A very small number of
heartworms will kill a ferret.
Now the question arises - do ferrets need heartworm preventative. This
all depends on where you live. In areas with large numbers of mosquitoes, who
transmit the disease between dogs and ferrets, and areas in which there is a
high rate of canine heartworm, preventative is probably a good idea.
Diethylcarbamazine, or DEC, can be given by daily pill or liquid. To my
knowledge, the monthly preventative which is used in dogs has never been tested
on ferrets, so you're certainly taking a big risk there. But DEC is deemed safe
and effective.
I live in Maryland, where I have never seen nor heard of a case in a
ferret. My animals spend all of there time indoors (which does not always
prevent this disease due to its tranmission by mosquitoes), so that cuts down on
their chances even more. I do not have my animals on the preventative.
If you are in a heartworm area of the country, check with you rvet to
see what he says about the likelihood of your ferret contracting this disease.
No Mark, I don't think there is any problem with giving ferretone with
your DEC.
To Mary concerning hair loss -
Mary, I have often seen ferrets lose harir around the 8-10 month time
frame and lose a bit of weight (probably "baby fat".) I don't think there is
anything major wrong here, and the loss of hair particularly around the head
does not ring any bells for me. Take a good look at the underlying skin to make
sure it is not irritated or crusty. Also check for ear mites - an allergic
reaction to the mites might cause excessive scratching by your ferret.
I think a wait-and see approach is okay in this instance.
Re ear mites -
I agree with Chris on the use of Tresaderm for mites - that is what I
use on my guys. Most ferrrets have them, but as they live down under the wax in
the ear, many are only picked up by vets after a good cleaning or sometimes
repeated tries. If your ferret is digging at its ears, and has a profuse dark
red to black wax, ear mites are likely. You need to things to treat them - a
cerumenolytic material to dissolve the wax, and Tresaderm (both of which you
can get from your vet. You can't hurt your ferret by using q-tips carefully.
About your vet's prices - if your aren't satisfied, try elsewhere. (But think
of how much it would cost if it was a human child you were taking to a doctor
with an ear infection....)
On the "Mystery Virus" -
As of this point, I have seen six cases which I believe are the result
of the Green Virus (I use that name very loosely). We have still not been able
to isolate anything from these tissues - most likely due to the time lapse
between infection and death - there is often a 7-10 day course of treatment
prior to animals death's which allows the entity to disappear.
I am currently writing a proposal to obtain funding to study this entity
and hopefully identify it. This is a long, involved process, however, no one
else has stepped forward to try to solve this riddle. Of course, obtaining
money is difficult and there are certainly no assurances that my proposal will
be funded. If it is, I hope to begin about April.
As there has been no research into this entity other than my own
personal investigations, there has been no vaccine developed.
I continue to hear reports of the disease, but have very few cases sent
to me. The reason for this is thhat the vast majority of animals survive the
infection. I get to see only the ones that haven't.
The chance of transmitting the disease on your clothers is very low, but
I am always careful to change following contact with strange ferrets. To date,
most of the cases have arisen following shows, in which naive ferrets were mixed
with infected ones.
Bruce Williams
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[Posted in FML issue 0717]
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