Mike, You will want to write to the FHL (URL in my signature lines).
I really lacked time to do this and had to cut the time from other
things, but the FHL has a number of participating vets who may be able
to help you more.

In addition to copying your FML post, please address the notes and
questions below. You may copy my private post to you and insert your
answers/comments.

Dakota notes:

Adopted two years ago
May be 5 (Unless there are previous vet records or purchase records
what we know for sure is that he is probably older than 3 since people
giving up a ferret are often wrong about age and he would have been
fully grown or you'd have given a younger age so may be younger or
older than estimate of 5 years.)

By "big" at adoption do you mean fully grown or obese?

Normal seasonal weight gain and loss pattern.

Suspected from early life:
1. Not out of cage much
2. Dog food diet (If so, then his heart needs extra monitoring because
long taurine deprivation could have set him up for heart disease. So,
chest x-rays, preferably chest ultrasound since that does not tend to
miss hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, EKG/ECG, etc.)

Lethargy for at least a half year (many possible causes including heart
disease, chronic infection, various pancreatic diseases, lymphoma,
anemia, etc)

Huge spleen (multiple possible causes: infection or malignancy and an
ultrasound guided aspirate may provide the answer. That could be done
at same time as ultrasound of the chest to image heart.)

A large spleen carries risks of rupture and the sheer size is
incapacitating and by pressing on other organs can inflame them. This
can mess up bowels often, but also can inflame other nearby organs like
the stomach and pancreas. Large spleens typically can be removed
without problems, even in extreme cases as long as the vet can either
pat them down safely enough to return a good amount of blood to the
ferret, or a blood donor is handy if needed.

What antibiotics are being taken and for how long?

Why is the Prednisolone being taken? That works out to 1.6 mg of the
med daily (given the concentration and the twice a day dose). What is
his weight so that the amount per kg can be considered by readers?

BTW, Prednisolone and Prednisone can be hard on the heart if heart
disease is present and are counterindicated if there is diabetes. If an
ulcer is present then it may need to be by injection or Carafate at
separate times may be needed. It can reduce the ability to fight some
types of infections.

So, loose stools that are usually brown, but sometimes pass through
faster (green), sometimes with some intestinal irritation (mucus),
sometimes fast through the small intestine with fats not digesting
(seedy). Infection suspected.

Blood glucose numbers not low with latest number 150. Was that while
on Prednisolone?

Several months ago a night of ataxia (possible causes include but are
not limited to blood sugar that is too high or too low, inner ear
infection, meningitis or other neural disease (such as ADV that has
become neural, toxopasmosis, etc.) fever, thrown clot -- which is
typically secondary to heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease,
or lymphoma, etc. Hind end weakness can also cause ataxia. Hind end
weakness is a general symptom with many possible causes.

Since the vet's ultrasound is not sensitive it pays to have someone
with a better one check the ferret. In many areas now there are
traveling radiologists with machinery.

What type of infection is suspected from the stool?

Giving a laxative with diarrhea can backfire. Giving a laxative
regularly can create an unhealthy intestinal dependence.

Has this ferret been kept in a situation (past or present) with high
exposure to cigarette smoke? Ferrets do have the ability to get lung
tumors and heart disease from secondhand smoke just as humans do which
is why they are used in those studies. The problems can begin some time
before they show up. In some studies of another malignancy exposure to
the triggering thing happens 3 years (plus or minus something like a
half year if memory serves) before. (In humans the figure I have heard
for how long afterward malignancy problems from side stream smoke can
show up is about 30 years, so a child with smoking parents who leaves
home at 18 is at increased risk till about age 50.)

Heart and lung disease both affect each other.

Irregular heartbeat under anesthesia can be an early sign of missed
A/V Node Block (Do EKG/ECG.) or missed cardiomyopathy (Do a good
ultrasound because x-rays typically miss the hypertrophic form.) There
are meds to help with each of these conditions. If heart disease is
present it may not be possible to remove that huge spleen, but if the
spleen is at risk of rupture you may have to risk it.

Which blood work was done? Only CBC or also a Chem Panel? If both and
both looked good that is good news for making some possibilities less
likely.

I'm really wondering how much of the problem MIGHT be hidden heart
disease, combined with the irritation caused by a huge spleen pressing
on the GI tract and irritating that and the pancreas. Hopefully, at
least one or the other may not exist or may be still at very manageable
levels. You will notice other possibilities mentioned in my notes, but
these two things fit multiple parts of the pattern so may be worth
first looks in ways mentioned.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html

[Posted in FML 6455]