To Brittany and Sage:
 
>Sage is a 1.5 year old albino male.  We visited my parents over break and
>my mother came down with a very severe flu the last day of our visit.  We
>were visiting for about a week...  Today the vomiting has ended and his
>fluid intake has increased dramatically.  However he will not eat yet.
 
Brittany - did you know that ferrets contract eh same influenza viruses as
people, and that people can give influenza to ferrets.  Ferrets generally
suffer more from the upper respiratory types of influenza, though.  Signs of
flu in ferrets are similar to those in people, however they tend to be hit a
little harder (it's not life-threatening), though, and the symtoms last from
2-3 weeks.
 
Your problem at this point is to get food into him.  I would suggest a
temporary switch to a bland diet such as Gerber's chicken or some formof
Duck Soup (see the Ferret FAQ), until he's back on his feet.
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP              Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
Dept. of Veterinary Pathology               [log in to unmask]
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1437]