**The advice dispensed by myself in reference to FML postings is not meant
to supplant the advice of veterinarians who are in charge of the patient.
If the patient is not currently under the care of a veterinarian, the client
is recommended to take their ferret to one.**
 
>From:    "Erynn D. Dalton" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: For the vet (or anyone else who may know)
>... has been kind of sickly for the past couple of months.  She seems to
>have some type of respiratory problem (hacking, coughing, wheezing and
>sneezing a lot).  ...
 
Have the vet take a chest x-ray.  Chronic respiratory problems that do not
respond to antibiotics point to some other problem than a bacterial
infection.  Other possiblities include asthma (unlikely), allergies
(possible), viral infection (possible) or juvenile lymphosarcoma.
 
>From:    stephanie ann maehr <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Help, I need advice!
>Hi, all.  My vet and I are baffled.  One of my precious little ones, Sophie,
>vomits on occasion, usually once a month.  It's only one episode, but ...
 
Furballs is one possibility.  Others include a food allergy.  If your pets
are not on a hairball remedy, try it for a month.  It won t hurt if it not
hairballs.
 
>From:    "D. Steele" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Scooter has heart problems- need advice/second opinion.
 
That dosing of the diuretic is appropriate.  The diuretic has a wide range
of safe dosages and the 1/4 ml once daily is at the bottom part of that
range.  The cardoxin (generic name = digitalis) is probably okay also (there
are a few different concentrations out there).  Most heart problems in
ferrets are a disease called cardiomyopathy and digitalis may help.  An
ultrasound would confirm the diagnosis but the odds of it being something
else are very, very small.  Your vet should treat the ferret similar to a
cat with dilated cardiomyopathy.
 
>From:    "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: About ear-mites -- confusing!
>I have gotten so many conflicting reports about ear-mites.  One person told
>me that anyone anywhere near the ferret or anything it had been on was prone
>and should be treated as infected.  Another person said nope -- only cats
 
Ferrets, dogs, rabbits and cats can all get ear mites.  The mite does live
outside the ear canal also and can be contagious to other pets.
 
>From:    Elizabeth Draus <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Spaying stuff
 
Whether and what to vaccinate with is up to the individual veterinarian.
Most vets will bring your pet up to date on the airborne diseases such as
distemper to minimize infection in the hospital.  Since rabies is
transmitted (almost exclusively) through bites and pets are kept in separate
hospital cages, many do not require it.  Another possibility is that your
vet is trying to minimize vaccine reactions be separating out the vaccines.
For maximum protection, you ferret should be vaccinated before the visit.
 
The estrogen that causes the vulva to swell is now no longer being produced
by the ovaries (because she does not have any now) but the hormone takes
some time to bio- degrade in the body.  Usually the vulva will start to
decrease in size in 1 to 4 weeks.
 
>From:    "Whitten, Carrie L" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Adrenal Tumor
>I wrote in a while a go about my ferret, Rascal, losing fur on his back.
>Well his fur is still falling out.  The second blood test and vet visit was
>not good.
 
I personally am not a fan of using ultrasound as the diagnostic test for
adrenal disease.  There are to many false negatives, that is the adrenal
gland is not enlarged enough to show up on an ultrasound.  I either use an
exploratory surgery or the Univ. of Tennessee adrenal test for diagnosis.
Adrenal tumors can be malignant but they spread only very late in the
disease, so the idea of a spreading cancer eating up your pet does not apply
for adrenal tumors.  Your ferret s life with the tumor is shorter than
normal but no one has a firm statistic on how long that is.  Also, do not
forget the medical option of treating the tumor with lysodren.  It works
well for a lot of ferrets and it may be a viable option given the limited
finances.
 
>From:    Kylie Preisig <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Fleas and kits
>We currently have a litter of three week old kits, and both they and their
>mother have fleas.
 
The safest method is to pick them off or use a flea comb.  Once older (more
than 6 weeks of age), use a kitten safe product on the ferrets.  Also treat
the environment.
 
>From:    Stuart & Susan Wenzel <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: No Winter Weight Gain
 
Some get fat, some don t. Don t worry about it.
 
**HAPPY THANKSGIVING.  I'll be out of town until Monday morning for any
e-mail.**
 
Mike Dutton, DVM, DABVP
Weare Animal Hospital
Weare, NH, USA
[Posted in FML issue 1767]