Hi.
 
My ferret, Ouzo, has been noticeably under the weather for the last month
we've had him.  We got him as a foster first, then i fell in love with him
and adopted him from FAST.  I knew he was sick when i adopted him.  At
first, we thought it was adrenal because his back was bare and his tail was
bald.  It was evident that he'd been fed bad food for a long time because
his nails were in really bad shape.  Some of his little toes are
permanently bent sideways because of his nail length (they weren't clipped
too often).  We've been feeding him a mixture of Mazouri and Sheppard &
Greene.  All of his hair has grown back.
 
Ouzo was always really tired looking and could only play for about 5 mins
before falling asleep.  He also drinks one water bottle a day.  His back
legs are also really weak when he first gets up.  So, we took him to the
vet yesterday to get all sorts of tests done to find out what is wrong with
him.  We were thinking adrenal, or insulinoma.  Well, it's neither.  Our
vet (who's the best as far as we're concerned) did blood work and x-rays.
The x-rays show an enlarged heart (about 3 ribs wide) & the vet strongly
suspects thymic lymphoma also.  She wasn't sure what kind of heart disease
Ouzo has but is researching all options (we're one of a few clients who
have ferrets).
 
The blood test results are as follows:
alb = 33 g/l          amyl = 96 IU        urea = 18.87 mmol/l
alkp = 35 IU          Ca = 2.14 mmol/l    chol = 3.73 mmol/l
alt = 72 IU           crea = 53 umol/l    glu = 6.44 mmol/l
phos = 2.92 mmol/l    tbil = 7 umol/l     tp = 85 g/l
glob = 52 g/l         hct = 41.1%         hgb = 14.6 g/dl
mchc = 35.5 g/dl      wbc = 7.2 x10(9) /L grans = 5.5 x10(9)/L
%grans = 76%          l/m = 1.7 x10(9)/L  %l/m = 24%
plt = 11 x10(9)/L
 
If anyone has any idea what all this means, pls let me know.  Also, if
anyone has any info about heart disease and meds for it and homeopathic
meds I'd really appreciate it.  Also, if anyone has a ferret who's had
heart disease and thymic lymphoma, I would appreciate knowing what to
expect.
 
The vet figures Ouzo is at least 6 yrs because of the shape his teeth are
in.  Adam and I are inclined to agree.  So, will he make it through all of
this?  I really hope so.  He also has ear mites and a skin infection on his
tummy near his hind legs.  The vet said she's going to research ferret
heart disease and possible meds and we will hear from her next week.  So,
we're treating what we know of now.
 
Please keep Ouzo in your thoughts.  Although I've only had him for about a
month, it's like he's been mine forever, so i can't really think about
losing him.  And i'll do whatever's necessary to make him well.  Just once,
I'd like to see him war dance.
 
Thanks in advance.
 
Nicole, Adam, Oz and Merlin (healthy & young brats), and Ouzo (Ooze for
short)
[Posted in FML issue 2429]