CLIPBOARD AND RECORDS:
 
I keep a clipboard with the hospital cage, and I keep the same type of
medical records nurses keep on people, including medication and feeding
times, food and water intake, weights, sleep and activity patterns, tooth
grinding, character of bowel movements, stool blood tests, urine tests,
straining during urination, and other problems, such as wheezing,
coughing, retching, or vomiting.  Any style clipboard will do, but I have
one with a cover which folds over the notepaper to keep it clean.  I
suppose a binder or notebook would be as good, but I like to enter my
notes in a word program, so a clipboard works better for me.  I make one
up for each sick ferret and it stays with it, including when we visit the
vet.  In fact, while I am visiting and racking up the vet bill, I have
already handed the clipboard to the vet and they are looking at ALL the
information I have recorded.  Just as an aside, if you really want a
great ferret vet, give them as much data as possible.  Let them see a
week or more worth of data and they will generally do a better job
defining the ferret's problem and treating it.  This type of data is
invaluable, and it really can mean the difference between life and death
for some ferrets.  Get a clipboard, stick a pad of paper under the clip,
tie a pencil to it, and KEEP ACCURATE NOTES!
 
You may wonder if this is overkill when caring for a sick ferret.
Certainly, in some cases it is.  However, there are three arguments that
support this type of record keeping.  First, in critically ill ferrets it
gives your vet the type of outstanding data that can be used to manage
both crisis events and general care.  Second, in chronically ill ferrets
it gives your vet the type of terrific data needed for accurate diagnosis
and treatment.  Third, if the record keeping is consistent over the life
of the ferret, it can provide valuable clues to long-term problems.  Does
your ferret suffer seasonal ailments?  Do they seem to have the same
problems time after time?  By documenting the health history of your
ferret you can track genetic (breeding) problems of the line, undiagnosed
long term problems, and you can even learn to anticipate specific
problems.  More importantly, if this type of data was made available to
the right vets, it might help them document treatments and medications,
and better fine-tune ferret medicine.  Overkill?  Perhaps, but if you
have ever spent weeks trying to figure out what is wrong with your
ferret, spending hundreds of dollars in tests, this type of overkill
can be worth it.
 
One other comment about record keeping and its importance for ferret
veterinary care.  The FML iperiodically has posts from people complaining
that vets misdiagnose ferrets, but few of them mention if they supply
those vets with the type of data that eliminates false starts and
dead-ends.  Some vets may not know much about ferrets, but they certainly
can recognize the importance of decreased urinary output, increased water
intake and symptoms of irritability and restlessness.  Keep good records,
and show them to your vet!
 
Bob C
[Posted in FML issue 4402]