Today I took my 4 and a half year old ferret to see the vet because over
the last 4 months he has steadily lost his motor coordination in the hind
leg area.  It has gotten to the point where if another one of my ferrets
barely runs into him he falls over so I was more then a little bit
concerned.  The first thing the vet asked me was how old Ripley is.  He
took two sets of X-rays and then drew blood on him.  He showed me the
X-rays and where there should be white bone it is all gray looking.  My
vet thinks it could be one of three things:
 
1. Lymphosarcoma
2. Myloma
3. Osteoporosis
 
He said that his bones where so weak in the hind leg area that a small fall
could end up breaking them.  He also found two ruptered disks in his little
back.  He eats fine, drinks great, and shows no signs of illness other then
the slipping and sliding around he tends to do when he walks.  Does anyone
out there have anything they can tell me to shed some light on this?  Any
suggestions on how to make Ripley more comfy?  The vet put him on 1/4th of
tablet of Pet/Cal to build up the calcium.  I am at a loss and feel so bad
for my Rippy.  I have already dealt with adrenal several times over and
then a spleen removal as well as blindness in some of my other ferrets so
I am a little familiar with fert ailments.  I hope this letter finds some
kind of advice for my ferret because he needs all the help I can give him.
 
Diane
[Posted in FML issue 3343]