Q: "My vet used glue to hold closed the spot where she took out [my
   ferret's] private parts. It makes me nervous..."
 
A: Was the vet's name "Bobbit?" Now, *that* would make *me* nervous...
 
Tissue glues are the latest thing and are even being used on humans.  But I
ran it through medline for you and I have to say that not only is tissue
glue safe, it is also probably better for your ferret than old-fashioned
sutures.  With sutures, you can run the risk of introducing bacteria into
the wound because the germs can travel down the suture into the body, it is
less irritating so the ferret is more comfortable, it is faster, so there
is less surgical time, and there is nothing to chew on or pull out.  Best
of all, you don't have to have a vet visit for removal or have to keep them
clean from scabs.  Besides, its really cool.
 
I like tissue glues, and although the occasional ferret may ultimately
show some sort of allergic reaction to them, I think they are the best
alternative when circumstances allow its use.  Talk to your vet about it.
 
Q: "Each and every time [my ferret] has her distemper shot, she gets sick.
Isn't there an alternative?"
 
A: Only if you don't mind using a shovel.
 
Let me put it this way.  Canine distemper is 99.99% fatal in ferrets.  No
ifs, ands or buts.  I have read or heard of a handful of ferrets that were,
by some miracle, nursed through distemper, but they all suffered some sort
of nervous system problem afterwards.  In one case I am personally aware,
the problems include brain damage and frequent seizures.  The only real
treatment (once the ferret has contracted distemper) that I know about is
impractical in major vet hospitals, and impossible in clinics.  It is the
replacement of the serum plasma portion of the ferret's blood with plasma
from a ferret having a high distemper-antibody titer.  Try to get that from
a vet drug store.  Essentially, you are screwed and your ferret will die.
 
All this is erased from the board with the use of canine distemper
innoculations.  There are two brands, and I have no wish to get into a
meaningless debate on the safety of either.  Do some ferret contract
distemper when innoculated?  Yes, some do.  Do some ferrets have allergic
reactions to some brands.  Yes, they do.  So what-the-hell what!?  What is
the alternatitive?  To watch your ferret sicken, lose control over its
body, scream in pain, have uncontrolable seizures, and finally die in its
own vomit if you wait too long to have it put to sleep?  At least with
AIDS, someone will wear a ribbon.  If you can get the "better" of the two
innoculants, do so and feel lucky and smart.  But if you can't, then for
heaven's sake, use the other one.
 
Over the last few years, I have heard all sorts of horror stories about
this brand or that brand.  For the individuals that have suffered a loss, I
am truely sorry.  But I also have to tell you, many of the "reactions" are
minor and are probably *NOT* allergic reactions at all.  Instead, some are
the expected reaction of some individuals to the shot.  For example, when I
took shots to prevent typhus, I was extremely ill for four days; vomiting,
the runs, high fever, swollen and painful arm, and a sincere wish to
accidently fall from a cliff into a swimming pool full of broken glass.  I
felt horrible, and to make matters worse, my friend Dana had no reaction
what-so-ever.  I hated him.  But the next week, when we had the shots for
cholera, he got sick and I didn't even break into a sweat.  Ferrets are just
like people in that there is an individual response to an innoculation, and
while the vet or the manufacturer can tell you the percentage of ferrets
that might get sick, they cannot tell you which *ferret* will get sick.  If
your ferret has a bad reaction to the shot the first time it got it, it was
probably not an allergic reaction, but a nasty response to the shot.  It
was a random event, impossible to predict.
 
One other thing.  Allergic reactions occur because a foreign substance
(usually a protein) has been introduced into the body.  The first time you
are introduced to the substance, your body makes antibodies to it.  That
means you never have an allergic reaction the first time you are exposed to
something.  It is always the second time, or later.  Now, it is true that
two different substances that are very close biochemically can cause
sympathetic reactions, but those instances are rare.  If your ferret has
never had a distemper shot, it is unlikely it will have an allergic
reaction the first time.  Also, allergic reactions produce specific
symptoms, such as rashes, welts or hives, difficulty breathing, and shock.
The symptoms usually respond rapidly to antihistimines and stimulants,
which block the reaction and reverse the shock.  If your ferret got sick
and didn't respond to these treatments (assuming your ferret was healthy
and the treatments done rapidly), or if the reaction was not immediate but
some time later, then the ferret probably did not have an allergic
reaction.  It probably reacted to the distemper shot the same way I reacted
to the typhus shot.  Badly.
 
I have the skills and knowledge to give distemper shots on my own, and I
could save some money doing so, which in a 22-ferret-household can add up
to a fair sum.  But I refuse to do so.  I rarely complain when breeders
give the kit their first shot, because I know the chance of anaphylaxis is
close to nill, but I refuse to take my ferrets to "innoculation fairs"
unless a well-equiped vet is in attendance.  The reason I won't innoculate
my own ferrets is because I am not emotionally nor medically equiped to
prevent or cure bad reactions.  Allergic (anaphylactic) shock can be
life-threatening, and I am trained to look at bones--not make instant
medical decisions.  My ferrets deserve a better veterinarian than myself.
 
Bob C and 22 MO Neck-Bitin' Fools
[Posted in FML issue 2422]