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Author wrote:
>Background info
>Precious my now 11 week old ferret was purchased December 22.  She was
>taken to the veterinarian and given a clean bill of health along with
>her distemper shot.  She then began introductions with my established 3
>ferrets.  Three days later she vomited once during an especially rough
>bout of play.  This happened again on the two successive days, exact
>same scenario.
>
>She was taken to the vet given a regular x ray, fecal, and bloodwork.
>The xray and fecal were both normal.  The irregular findings from the
>CBC panel were:
>
> Hemoglobin 11.3 g/dL(low)
> Hematocrit 32.3 %(low)
> WBC 8900 (high)
> alkaline Phosphatase 255 U/L(high)
> Phosphorus 8.7 mg/dL (high)
> Potassium 116 g/dL (high)
> Chloride 2.4 g/dL (low)
>She was then placed on amoxycillin.  Each mL contains 50mg of
>amoxicillin (concentration) with .4cc given every 12 hours.
>
>She did not stop vomiting.  The vomiting continued 1 time per day for
>5 days and then 2 times on the 6th day.  These times she was out of the
>cage, but not engaged in active play.
>
>Precious was again taken to the vet for a barium xray.  The resulting
>xray showed no evidence of a blockage.  She is now on carafate 1/8
>tablet in .5cc of water every 8 hours and pepto bismol .5cc every 8
>hours.
>
>Throughout the entire time she has had firm stools, urinates with no
>problem, eats, drinks, and plays very actively.  In all she is showing
>no symptoms of any problem except for the 5 seconds out of every day
>when she vomits.
>
>At this point there is no definite diagnosis of what the problem may be,
>and I would appreciate any further advice and information.
 
A couple of notes:
 
Foreign bodies are always the #1 cause of vomiting in young ferrets.
Even though you have a negative X-ray and barium X-ray, 70% of foreign
bodies are negative with this panel.  The fact that she vomits during
play is also compatible with a foreign body.
 
The anemia suggests the possibility of a gastric ulcer - not unusual in
young ferrets adjusting to a new household and pecking order.  An ulcer
may also cause vomiting.
 
Pepto-Bismol offers nothing beyond what the carafate does, and is
stressful to administer.  I'm not a fan, and it causes or worsens
stress ulcers.
 
For ulcers, the carafate is better administered 10 minutes before a meal,
rather than every 8 hours, and I usually switch to a bland diet if I am
thinking ulcers.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 4397]