Hi, List -
 
We have four ferrets at our house, and one of them (Hopie) has gotten
extremely thin (bony) and has chronic diarrhea. :P  I feel so sorry for
her, she's up & down to "go" all of the time, and seems like she eats
constantly - everything just runs right through her.
 
We took her to the vet about this the end of Oct., and he prescribed
some antibiotics and said he thought she might have ECE or "green slime"
disease.  She *HATED* the antibiotics w/ a passion - as soon as we got
them in there and let go of her, she would shake her head so violently,
antibiotics flew all over the room!  I'm not sure how much was going
down, but it was seemingly impossible to hang onto her any longer.  She
would also follow this by opening her mouth as wide as she could and
wiping her tongue on anything w/ in reach, to get the taste out of her
mouth!
 
After 2 weeks of these antibiotics 2x/day, there really was no
perceivable change in her condition. :(  The vet also had us giving her
"Glucerna" (some kind of a drink normally used for diabetics) to try &
help her put on some weight, but after the first few days of liking it,
she developed a revulsion to it as well - I think, associating it w/ the
antibiotics!
 
We talked to the vet again, to see if it might be a possibility to board
her for another bout of antibiotics, thinking they may be able to get
them down her more successfully than we were, but he said that the stress
of boarding her in this condition probably wasn't a good idea anyway, not
to mention they were going to charge $18/night - a bit cost prohibitive
for the full two weeks, unfortunately!
 
His suggestion was that we try the antibiotics again ourselves, but we
saw her reaction the first time, and I'm not personally convinced that
the outcome is going to be any better the 2nd time around.  I don't like
subjecting her to that whole routine, especially if it isn't going to
help in the end! :(
 
The other MAJOR problem we are having is that she is absolutely TRASHING
the cage for all of the other ferrets!  This group of ferrets used to
poop outside the litterbox sometimes when I didn't get their blankies
back in there quick enough (in the wash!) or something, but generally
kept everything where it was supposed to go, the great majority of the
time.  However, now that she's been sick, Hope is pooping EVERYWHERE!
 
We pulled out the flooring that had been lining their cage to put in some
new, thinking that might help, but no such luck.  There was one corner
she was frequenting, so I converted a Ziploc sandwich-sized container
into a small, makeshift litterbox, but she goes outside the edge of it
instead of backing into the corner and using the litter (I cut the side
down so it would be easily accessible)!  Aaagh.
 
I hung an extra hammock on the 2nd level of their cage where there hadn't
been one before, hoping that might also discourage the use of that
corner, but she even pooped ON TOP of the hammock yesterday! (?!)  It's
really sad to see her like this, but the condition of this cage is
totally, completely grossing me out.  She is going all over everywhere
currently - it isn't even isolated to one area anymore.
 
I don't think I need to tell any of you how this is smelling up the
house, plus I feel badly that the others are having to live in these
conditions.
 
Should we consider removing her from the cage, and isolating her in a
"sick cage"?  I don't know if that's the right way to go, or not.  And,
what about the illness in general?  By the way, the reason she's still in
the cage w/ the others to begin w/ is because the vet said if they hadn't
already caught it from her, they weren't likely to (?).  So far, they are
fine...just living in the middle of a big mess by the end of every day! :(
 
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated - I just don't know what we
should be doing here, and seem to be running out of constructive ideas!!
Thanks in advance!
 
Sue & Craig
w/ Bo, Hope, Jasper & Shiloh
[Posted in FML issue 4014]