I have been privately admonished (rudely in only one case from a third
party) for mentioning to a friend that many prescription and OTC meds can
kill ferrets and providing ASPCA Poisoning Control info in case she needed
it.  I know that she deeply loves her ferrets and figured that if it was
not a joke then providing that information would help her.  Since Alex
did not write me back the day that i posted to say that it was a joke
I did not ask Bill to edit the post.  Perhaps she just didn't think of
contacting me directly or perhaps she figured that it was useful info and
help someone (which would be like her).  I'd rather not risk anyone's
ferrets or major joys in life, especially since each year in my volunteer
capacities I DO hear of about a half dozen ferrets who die in such a way.
 
>I feel like I am about to go mad!  This is the 5th pet (4th ferret), since
>October 4th!  I just posted about 12 days ago about Mr Snickers dying and
>now Puffin, my little albino female is gone also.  The vet has no idea as
>to why she died, nor does he know why Mr Snickers died suddenly, nor Cody
>nor BJ.  However, there are certain symptoms they all had in common and we
>are suspecting some kind of poisoning perhaps??  Let me explain and maybe
>some else can come up with some ideas we haven't.
 
That is TERRIBLE.  The standard approach to mysterious deaths is to have a
necropsy with pathology.  If that finds nothing and another death happens
then adding some toxicology makes sense.  Necropsies save lives.
 
Black stool indicates bleeding out in the upper GI tract.  Jaundice
indicates serious liver damage.  Kidneys are yet a third organ.
 
Yes, carbon monoxide can cause a cherry-red appearance to skin.  Detectors
can be useful.  esp. low in enclosed areas the animals use and which abut
on garages, furnaces, etc.
 
One thing that I think that you should do is to have ADV tests on the
remaining ferrets.
 
From many years in the ferret community I can recall reading of a
situation in which many deaths happened due to pyrithren (sp?), another
due to carbon monoxide from a garage that was coming through a hole
into a closet, another with a leaky pipe to a gas stove, etc.  .
 
In your case I'd also pay to pick the brains of the veterinary-poisoning
specialists at the ASPCA
 
>To call the ASPCA POISON CONTROL:  888-4ANI-HELP (888-426-4435)
>
>It's an emergency hotline providing 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week
>telephone assistance to veterinarians and animal owners. The  vets
>there rapidly answer questions about toxic substances. There is a
>$45 consultation fee paid by the animal owner, veterinarian or
>product manufacturer.
>
>Direct website addies:
>
>http://www.napcc.aspca.org/
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=apcc (alternative addy
if the ASPCA Poison Control one doesn't work.)
[Posted in FML issue 3812]