Hello everyone,
  Finally, some great news! Thanks to all of you who sent suggestions on
 treating
ferrets that have come down with ECE (Green Diarrhea Virus). Both of our 3 year
 old
males are doing much better but I'm so glad that in those instructions, both
 posted here
and the ones e-mailed to me, that you've mentioned setbacks in recovery. Kirby
 was the
larger of the boys at 2 3/4 lbs. He is down to 1 3/4 lbs. but for a while he
 seemed so
much better off than Bandit who at less than 2 lbs. lost more than 1/2 his
 weight.
Bandit couldn't walk to the litter box in his cage and was unable to climb into
 the
hammock placed only 1 inch above the floor (since they've been sick). With the
medications (amoxicillin/and tetracycline), Pedialyte, and variations of DUCK
 SOUP,
Bandit has put back on all the weight he had lost, his fur is shiny again and
 he's as
active as ever. Kirby,however,had relapsed a little but in the past 2 days he is
 eating
well again, putting on a little weight and wants to play but will climb back
 into the
cage and get into his bed even if Bandit is still running around. These guys are
 smarter
than people think.(Other than us ferret owners, of course! We know!) To all who
 are
nursing your fuzzies thru this, be sure to continue everything (meds, liquids,
 and force
the food, no matter what it is) an extra week or so after they seem OK. I found
 Bandit
would only eat Gerber banana- pineapple dessert if COLD, and nothing else, until
 his
stomach was healed enough to go on to moistened dry food with the dessert added.
 The
whole time, Kirby got to eat everything Bandit turned down. He loved this except
 for
chicken, they both HATE that. The people at the grocery store thought we had
 another
baby with all the baby food we tried. Then Kirby stopped eating again and
 started
grinding his teeth. The pepto-bismol worked great and now I own a whole bunck of
 pink
dotted shirts. Maybe the pill form would have been better if I could have gotten
 them to
swallow it. Good luck with the pepto!
    Our local vet hadn't heard of ECE and he is also very impressed with the
 support
system available thru the FML. He now has copies of all the medical data sent to
 us by
BIG and the others who have sent me info directly (THANK YOU!!!). He said that
 the
hands-on feeding info is great and he'll make it available to others who may
 need it.
My daughter and I are putting together all this data along with the Frequently
 Asked
Questions (FAQ) and placing them in all the pet stores in this area. Not one of
 the
stores knew of ECE or any other ferret problems. I'm still trying to find out
 where
people are taking the sick ferrets!
    Thanks for the help and for just being there! You are a special group of
 folks.
We probably would have lost both of our fellas and that would be almost too much
 to
bear. Our thoughts and prayers are with those of you with sick ferrets and to
 the ones
who have gone to Rainbow Bridge. Bless you all.
  Bruce and the Maine gang.
[Posted in FML issue 1638]