In the recent tradition of "melissa's ferrets get sick" we've got another
illness going through the house.  This one seems related to the standard
ferret flu.  Easel broke with it Friday night - fever, pale nose, lethargy,
and a white, mucousy stool with flecks of blood that over the weekend turned
to dark green and tarry, then brown and tarry, and now just kinda slimy
brown.  *Very* stinky stool.  When she came down with this we immediately
popped her into the hospital cage (well, we called Terence and got his cage
but I've just bought my own) and provided electrolytes; she slept straight
until Sunday, at which point she started banging things around and trying to
tear the cage apart from the inside out, so she went back into the big cage.
She's still got funny stool but she's acting less like a tortoise and more
like a regular fert now.  However, now Friday and Potpie seem to have it.
Friday is lethargic and also happens to be vomiting.  She won't eat unless
prompted and won't take electrolytes unless forced.  Potpie is in low gear -
ie, active, but slow - and has the same funny stool we noticed with Easel.
No vomiting.  Potpie eats and drinks fine.
 
Easel got her vaccines last Thursday, so we thought it was that, but now
that the other ferrets have it (Noodle is fine so far) it's obviously
something else.  We had a visiting ferret from Monday-Wednesday, but Easel
came down with this on Friday.  We got some 'coat and soothe' kao-something
(not pectate) from the vet but Easel got better before needing it.
 
I'm a little worried about Friday, as she's the one with lympho and with all
this throwing up she won't take her pred OR her duck soup.  She's the one in
the hospital cage now so maybe she'll sleep it off too.  Ugh.
 
Nurse Melissa & the inmates
 
 ___ Melissa Litwicki __ [log in to unmask] ___
 By the whole newsgroup devoted tennis showing
     it after scarfing fork and laughters
[Posted in FML issue 2031]