>From:    Vickie LoMonaco <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Wheezing ferret-- help!!!
>I have a problem with one of my new ferrets that I am hoping to get some
>advice about.  Yesterday he started making a sound kind of between wheezing
>and gagging; and it sounds like it could be a cough, too.  We've had him
>just a week now, and he's been very healthy and active.
 
Please take him to the vet.  No matter what we tell you here, there's just
no way to know for sure without an examination by a vet.
 
On that note... two of mine came down with similar symptoms about two weeks
ago.  Both had a hacking, gagging, wet cough.  The difference was that Spaz
was a bit lethargic and not eating, while Penny seemed her normal self.  I
am sure Spaz wasn't eating because his sniffer wasn't working well at all.
I immediately started feeding him baby food and A/D, and he ate with gusto,
so I was pretty sure he wasn't feeling too terrible, he just couldn't smell
his regular food.  Before I started feeding him he lost 40 grams (about 1.5
ounces) in a day, so it was off to the vet.  Lungs sounded clear and
temperature was normal, and I went home with Clavamox to head off any
complications (pneumonia, etc.) and instructions to give 0.2ml of benedryl
up to three times a day to help the congestion.  I also put a cool mist
vaporizer in their room.
 
Penny, our youngest, got it first and I guess gave it to Spaz.  Penny shook
it off pretty quickly, probably because she's only 9 months old, and she
never appeared sick, other than the "wet" gagging, hacking sound.  She ate
normally and was down only about 10 grams, which could be the difference
between weighing her before or after a poop!  Incidentally, neither one
hacked unless they were up and moving about, like your boy.
 
I was waiting for my oldest boy, Beasley, to get it, but he never did.
Perhaps because he gets the "Insulinoma Elixer" which is loaded with
vitamins?  I dunno, but I was worried about him and thankfully it passed
him by.
 
A trip to the vet yesterday for a recheck resulted in a clean bill of
health.  They are all back to their normal selves.  No more hacking or
wheezing, and Spaz is back to being the terror he was born to be.  Now both
cats are sneezing.  Jeez, does it ever end.
 
That's our story, but it doesn't mean that your boy has anything like what
mine had.  Plus, you indicated you could hear gurgling sounds when you held
him to your ear so you should really take him to see a vet.  It may be much
more serious than it appears by his activity level.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael F. Janke, [log in to unmask]
* Secretary, South Florida Ferret Club & Rescue
* A 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation
*
* Visit our web site:  http://www.miamiferret.org
[Posted in FML issue 2434]