First topic: drug dosages:
 
I get a lot of questions about various drug dosages, but there's a lot of
time wasted because many times people don't quite understand how to express
the question.  In order to be helpful, I need to know the milligrams of the
drug the ferret is getting.  Telling me he's taking 0.5 ml of something
doesn't tell me anything unless I know how many milligrams (mg) of the drug
there is per ml.  Please say either 1) he's getting 0.5 ml of a 5mg/ml
suspension or 2) he's getting 2.5 mg.  To put it simply, a milliliter is
just a volume, not a strength.
 
It's also a very good practice to get in the habit of expressing decimals
preceded by a zero. In other words, write 0.5 ml instead of .5 ml. This
helps clarify that you understand the difference between 5 and .5, and that
there's no typographical error.
 
Second topic: coccidia:
 
There sure seems to be more coccidiosis being diagnosed these days.  I
like to think it's because more people know to look for it.  Coccidia are
opportunistic parasites.  They tend to cause trouble when an animal has
undergone physiological stress from some other factor.  For example, a
juvenile ferret being brought into a new home right after having been
shipped by plane and just having gotten adjusted to the pet store.  Another
example is an elderly ferret who is already immunosuppressed from adrenal
disease, ECE, or cancer.
 
Coccidiosis in an adult ferret is definitely a tip-off that there may be
some underlying problem.  If routine treatment with Albon doesn't get rid of
it, there's definitely something else wrong.
 
It is transmitted strictly by fecal-oral contact.  Not aerosol.  It is a
species-specific protozoan.  There are coccidia for just about every species
of mammal.  I don't know of any cases where one species has transmitted its
particular coccidia to another species.  I wouldn't say it's impossible,
though, knowing how critters can mutate.
 
Bleach will not kill it.  That's one of the problems with controlling it.
Only 10% formaldehyde will kill the spores.  Throw out the litterbox and
start new.
 
Dr. K.
[Posted in FML issue 2413]