Hi,
I am a second year vet student and a ferret owner.  I have a big problem
with my nearly one-year old male deaf marked-white.  On monday he showed
sudden signs of anorexia and lethargy, and he would not drink water.  I
noticed it immediately after I had removed him from the bathroom (he has
just recently decided to nibble/chew on our shower mat).  He did not
defecate until sometime late the next morning(Tuesday).  By 2 pm Tuesday
he still was anorexic and was becoming dehydrated so I took him to his
vet.  Radiographs revealed a gas distended intestine.  He was found to be
lymphocytopenic (low blood lymphoctyes).  The next day, Wednesday, (he
still was anorexic, not defecating nor drinking throughout this time)the
veterinarian took radiographs and the intestinal gas seemed to have moved a
tiny bit (but palpation did not reveal a foreign body, nor was his abdomen
distended).  Unsure about a foreign body they ended up doing a barium
contrast study and found delayed emptying from the stomach.  So he went
into surgery-they did an abdominal exploratory and took biopsies.  No
foreign body was found.  He now has diarrhea and is still anorexic.  The
other differentials we thought of were possible lymphoma or a viral
infection.  Do any of you know of specific viral diseases that could cause
this in a ferret?  or are there any other differentials?  Someone suggested
a parvo virus.  Any opinions or advice?  Thank you all!
 
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Lisa M Tieber
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[Posted in FML issue 2663]