I have recently discovered a great ferret friendly vet in Bolton, UK.  He
admits that he does not know a lot about ferrets but is willing to learn.
I've already given him a hard copy of the FAQ's.
 
In the past few days he has neutered 4 of my hobs and has another 2 to
operate on this coming Friday.
 
Oliver, my latest rescue, wasn't behaving in a very ferret like manner - he
was eating and drinking OK.  When he first arrived here, after about 2
months of freedom and fending for himself, he was snatching food and
stashing it down the settee.  He also did a bit of wandering around and even
had a slight encounter with a poly shopping bag but over the past week he
more or less stayed where he was placed (very un-ferretlike).  We can no
longer feel his bones as they are now covered with a bit more flesh as he's
filled out from having regular meals.
 
The vet checked Oliver over and apart from having a rather bad case of ear
mites the vet concluded that poor Oliver was blind.  However, the vet isn't
familiar with the structure of the eye of a ferret and how a normal eye
should look.  He did compare it with Brock's a silver mitt, he has reddish
eyes, Oliver is a polecat (sable) - is there a difference between the red,
ruby and dark eye?  The vet said that if he was looking at the eye of a dog
he would say that Oliver had retinal atrophy - his first impression was that
he had cataracts but changed his mind when he checked with the 'scope thing.
BTW Oliver didn't object to the light shining in his eyes but Brock was most
upset and struggled like mad which could indicate that the vet is correct
when he reckons that Oliver can't see.
 
When Oliver is picked up he really clings, front and back paws are really
extended and his claws are digging in.  He relaxes a bit when he is cuddled.
At first Ron and I thought he was deaf - the mites could be causing a bit of
deafness anyway they should be cleared up by this weekend.
 
The vet has recommended that Oliver has extra vitamins added to his diet
i.e. B12 and Thiamine.  Ferretvite has them so it looks as if Oliver will be
getting a daily dose of it.
 
I know that blind ferrets can get around OK - Oliver is still living in
solitary, he's an entire hob - although the ear mites have spread to the
others.  My previous vet didn't seem interested in checking ears:-( BTW
Oliver's ears didn't appear to be particularly dirty, nor did they smell and
he wasn't scratching or shaking his head which I believe are the classic
signs of ear mites.
 
The vet was going to prescribe Oterna to clear up the mites - I pointed out
that it wasn't a good drug for a ferret because it did cause problems.  I
know of at least half a dozen ferrets who have lost their ears due to
gangrene setting in.  OK for a single dose but I wouldn't trust it above
that.  The drug most ferret owners in the UK use is Canaural.
 
Sheila
 
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http://www.btinternet.com/~sheila/ferrets.htm
Bolton Ferret Welfare & Newsletter Editor of the
National Ferret Welfare Society of the UK
The opinions expressed by me are not necessarily those of the NFWS
[Posted in FML issue 1788]