>From: "Shannon Crum" <[log in to unmask]>
>
>I hope I'm not being too forward by e-mailing you privately, but I am
>having a couple of problems with my new kit, Bailey.  I got him from the
>local pet shop & he had his first checkup on Saturday.  I understand that
>he is about 7 weeks old (born around October 12).
>
>When I picked him up, he had the sniffles (some light sneezing) and was
>running a slight temp (1-2 degrees above normal) so my regular vet gave me
>some Albon liquid for this.  He gets 1/4 CC twice daily since Saturday.
>That doesn't seem to be helping at all.
>
>When we got home Saturday, I noticed that he had a prolapsed rectum.  I
>was told this was normal for such young kits to have this; all I had to
>was moisten his food for a couple of weeks.  I have been giving him soft
>food along with 1 CC of Kaopectate twice daily to counteract the diarrhea
>that is caused by the antibiotics.
>
>I was wondering if you could tell me what is causing his sneezing.  I
>was also wondering if using a thermometer on such a small kit could have
>damaged his rectum.  I have used this vet for about 7 months; she's not a
>ferret specialist, but she has treated my other 4 ferrets.  I have never
>had a kit this young, so I'm kind of in the dark here.  Please let me
>know what you think.  Thanks,
>
>Shannon and the Web Weasels!
>  Bailey, Sebastian, Molly, Felicia & Sonny.
 
Dear Shannon -
 
First off, I wouldn't use Albon for a respiratory infection.  I reserve it
for coccidiosis - an intestinal parasite.  Now if it is causing diarrhea,
that's anothe reson to come off of it.  Prolapsed rectums are most commonly
seen in animals with diarrhea.  He probably should come off of the Albon
and onto another antibiotic such as amoxicillin, and go back to the type
of food that he was on before.  A food change is not helping with the
diarrhea.
 
Regarding the sniffles, - ferrets can catch the flu from humans - and it's
flu season - and everyone in the pet store loves to play with the ferret
kits.  A little sneezing is not too bad - as long as he is eating and
drinking normally - we can often ride out the flu without any medication.
There are other possibilities, such as high ambient dust, but those are
fairly rare and not worth discussing right now.
 
You didn't hurt his rectum with the thermometer.  The rectum is right now
working overtime - trying to find something solid in the feces to push out.
With recurrent diarrhea, there is nothing, so all of the straining causes a
prolapse.  You would think that it's hard feces that causes the prolapse,
but its the exact opposite.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3259]