>From:    "Mary L. McCarty" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: gastrointestinal bug/prednisone & incontinence
 
I had almost the same thing happen to my Jake.  He was an only ferret for
the first year of his life..  never sick, on the heavy side..  we purchased
another ferret, Kes, from the same store who sold only Path Valley ferts.
About 2 weeks later, Jake had gotten terribly sick, no appetite..  mucousy
green, foul smelling stools, he lost a tremendous amount of weight, the vet
gave him 3 subq's over a period of 2 weeks..  I had to hand feed him his
Totally Ferret ground up and made soft with water and linatone and *warmed*
for him to eat it..  it was awful for the whole family to see him waste
away..but, after about 3 weeks, he started rallying.  The vet put him on
antibiotics the last two weeks to prevent any other infection while he was
sick, and we just cared for him and prayed.  Kes *never* had any symptoms!
The vet felt that Kes was a carrier of whatever this was.  Sometimes Jake
has relapses, but the time between them is getting farther and farther
apart.
 
About 10 months later we were blessed with Dax.  We got her from the same
store, also a PV ferret.  About 3-4 weeks after she moved in with us, both
Jake and Kes came down with what we believe was a severe cold..  running
eyes, noses, sneezing fits that would knock them off thier feet, or if they
were already laying down, they would slam thier heads into the floor or
bottom of the cage with every sneeze.  Really pathetic to watch.  Every time
Jake would sneeze, he would grimace terribly..  as if he had sinus pain or
something.  His upper lip would be drawn up over his teeth, and the top of
his nose all wrinked up towards his eyes.  He would hold that position for
about 10 seconds after a sneeze.  Both Jake and Kes had the runs..  Jake 's
stools were on the olive green side, Kes' werent.  They stopped eating.
Completely.  More weight lost, more subq's.  More antibiotics for both this
time.  The vet told me they werent eating because they couldnt smell.  So, I
had an idea.  I put a couple of cups of food inside a coffee can and covered
it.  The following morning I opened the can, layed it on it's side, and put
it in thier cage..  there was such a concentrated aroma from the food, plus
with the 'tunnel' effect of the can..  they finally started eating.  Dax
never got it..  again, the vet said she could of 'brought it home with her' -
and was just a carrier.  Needless to say, I think ferret math stops here.
 
-Celia
Jake (the prince)
Kes (my sweetness and light)
Dax (the terror- who also never sleeps.)
[Posted in FML issue 1952]