THE ADVICE DISPENSED BY MYSELF IN REFERENCE TO FML POSTINGS IS NOT MEANT TO
SUPPLANT THE ADVICE OF VETERINARIANS WHO ARE IN CHARGE OF THE PATIENT.  IF
THE PATIENT IS NOT CURRENTLY UNDER THE CARE OF A VETERINARIAN, THE CLIENT IS
RECOMMENDED TO TAKE THEIR FERRET TO ONE.
 
>From:    John Rosloot <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: urine acidifying foods
>Actually animal protein is the main ingredient in Hill's c/d Prescription
>Diet (at least it's the first ingredient listed: Poultry By-Product Meal,
>Ground Corn, Brewer's Rice, Animal Fat, etc).  My vet told me it's a good
 
I just checked the c/d bag to double check and on the dry food, brewers rice
is listed first. I still consider this a poor long term diet for ferrets.
 
>Date:    Fri, 23 Feb 1996 09:28:23 -0500
>From:    Vanessa Stevens <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Distemper/rabies shots
 
When in doubt, vaccinate.
 
>From:    "J. S. LEE" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Questions from a BEGINNER
 
Yes, severe gastrointestinal disease can cause acute death. Check the FAQ
about ECE for example.
 
A modified live, egg propagated canine distemper virus vaccine is what you
want for your ferrets. Your local vet should know if s/he carries it.
 
>From:    Anonymous Poster <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: A Question for the Vets
>Hi...I was wondering if somebody could answer this question for me.  I have
>two ferrets, but I got one last March and one in September...
 
Sure, it will work fine. I have not seen a greater incidence of vaccine
reactions when you 'shorten' a vaccine interval.
 
>From:    Laurie Kramer <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: sick ferret; intestinal blockage
>Last saturday evening, my 6 month old MF male choked and threw up 3 to 4
 
An obstruction is very likely.  What you are doing is the best medical
therapy you can give, but most obstructions need to be relieved surgically.
If the problem persists, have the upper g.i.  study done.  If obstructed,
expect surgery.
 
>From:    Corinna Nicole Sturdevant <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: medical advice needed
>I just took my youngest ferret to the vet, she is four months old.  The vet
>discovered that she has a heart murmur....
 
Heart murmurs are potentially dangerous. There can be innocent murmurs that
the ferret will grow out of or never have a problem with. One never knows.
The final decision is yours.  I would highly recommend a cardiac workup
(x-rays and ultrasound) if there are other signs of heart disease (increased
respiratory sounds, ascites, liver enlargement), if the murmur is
continuous, or if the murmur is louder than 2/5 or 2/6.
 
>From:    Anonymous Poster <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: x-rays
 
Depending on the State, it may be the law that the vet keeps the actual
x-ray.  X-rays are part of the legal medical record and you are entitled to
the information they contain but not the actual, legal x-ray.  From a
malpractice perspective, the x-ray are concrete evidence that is next to
impossible to alter (versus re-writing a record).  A few vets have copying
facilities if you want a copy.  Fortunately, vets can all speak the same
medicalese when describing x-rays and your new vet can probably decipher the
extent, etc. of the fracture without the actual x-ray.
 
>From:    "Dr. Sue R. Sterr" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Fracture in a ferret
>[Moderator's note: forwarded with permission from VETMED-L list.  BIG]
>Has anyone treated a radial-ulnar fracture in a ferret before?
 
For a simple transverse fracture easily reduced, a splint works well. A well
padded S-T splint can be tried but monitor for axillary plexus compression.
 
>From:    Becki Kain <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: tieke has fatty liver disease
>not cancer.  But Dr. Schiff has never seen it before in a ferret and
>we need to know how to treat it.
 
Fatty liver or more medically, hepatic lipidosis is usually secondary to
diabetes mellitus or some other type of severe energy restriction.  (In
diabetes, sugar/energy cannot get into the cells because of a lack of
insulin.) In cats, the more obese cats seem to develop the disease more
easily when starved.
 
Treatment is like that for cats. Aggressive force feeding of appropriate
diets.
 
>From:    Wes Woods <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Medical question
>Is it possible for ferts to suffer from Hypoglycemia?
 
Yes, ferrets can get hypogylcemia.  Check out the FAQ on insulinomas.  But
what your ferret is doing does not sound like the typical hypogylcemic
signs.  I would think more of of a gastrointestinal disease like
enteritis/gastritis.  See the FAQ concerning Diarrheas, etc.
 
>From:    Anonymous Poster <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Heartworm Test
>I have a question for the vets on this list.  After Carla took the stray
>ferret to have the heartworm test done I rememberrd what my vet told me
>last year.  I had missed several months/to a half year of heartworm med.
 
The reason to test a dog (and the same probably holds true for ferrets)
before restarting them on heartworm tablets is the potential for an allergic
reaction between the medication and baby heartworms (called microfilariae)
that adult heartworms produce.  So if the dog has adult heartworms, the
reaction rate with the daily medication is approximately 25% with 25% of
those affected having sevre to fatal reactions.  The reaction rate with the
monthly medication (this is the heartgard that ferret owners use) is again
approximately 25% with less than 1% having a severe to fatal reaction.
Remember these are all dog numbers.
 
The problem does not lie with the concept of testing ferrets, but with our
ability to test them.  Ferrets that are positive for heartworm typically
have only 1 or 2 adult heartworms (dogs have 25+) and a very low to
nonexistent microfilariae count.  These low numbers make it very difficult
for the dog tests to detect heartworm in ferrets.  CITE/SNAP antigen tests
from IDEXX have one of the best abilities to detect very low numbers and
that test is usually the recommended one.  But even then, numerous vets
think that there is only a 50:50 chance that the test would pick up an
infection with the SNAP/CITE.  Plus you need to get a blood sample from
ferrets and a lot of them need to be put under the general anesthesia.
 
For all those reasons, a lot of vets chose to just put the ferrets on
heartgard without a test, especially if you live in a low risk area (like
the Northeast).
 
>From:    ERIKA MATULICH <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Vet Question - Lysodren
>Could I get the vets' opinions on the use of Lysodren for treatment of
>non-operable adrenal tumors?
 
Lysodren selectively destroys the adrenal cells that cause
hyperadrenocorticism (the disease your ferret has).  The adrenal gland has a
great ability to regenerate.  You need to balance the destruction with the
regeneration.  For this reason the maintenance dosing of Lysodren is
typically one dose twice weekly.
 
I have yet to run into a case of total adrenal destruction (called
hypoadrenocorticism) with the use of Lysodren.
 
>From:    LeeAnn Mikula <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Intro & Shots
>Third, I have a question for anyone who can answer.  Skeeter just got the
>2nd of the 3 shots tonight and the 3rd is scheduled in another 4 weeks.
 
I leave it up to the owner after discussing it.  Ferrets are more prone to
vaccine allergic reactions than dogs or cats.  For this reason, many owners
elect to separate out the vaccines by at least two weeks.
 
In my practice, I have done it both ways.  I see a lot of ferret owners from
over one hour away and their lifestyle makes it difficult for repeated
visits.  I personally have not see a higher incidence of vaccine reactions
when I use one vaccine per visit versus two.
 
Mike Dutton, DVM, DABVP
Weare Animal Hospital
Weare, NH.
[Posted in FML issue 1491]