About ferrets with chocolate -- do be careful to NOT give ferrets with heart
disease chocolate, caffine, licorice or other compounds which affect things
like heart rate and blood pressure.  What's good for the goose t'aint always
good for the gander.
 
Spotty is much improved today.  Besides his antibiotics and pepto he's on
carafate and prednisone now and the effect is spectacular.  He's also
polished off almost an entire can of AD since yesterday morning, and put on
an ounce!  Guess this two day trial is an awfully good indication that what
he's dealing with now is secondary colitis.  We still don't know what the
original illness was but we are behaving and plan to continue to behave for
the next year as if it was ECE since there turns out to be that possibility.
Yes, I know that most here were sick for only 4 days and that Steve and I
were sick with the same symptoms -- but who's to say the smaller-than-small
didn't go and mutate into something which would present in such a fashion,
viruses are bonkers on that score and the smaller-than-your-average-virus
variants are more so.  Wonder if on place ECE has been hitching rides is
inside people, originally as asymptomatic, but not necessarily now without
symptoms.  That is no more than speculation, of course.  Dang, I was hoping
to start a cook book reading rotation with Beth since we both trace assorted
aspects like food history, nutritional anthro, techniques, and such.  Don't
know now that it would be logical now since ferrets can snort some of our's
and their sweet Sully has just had major surgery.  Until a few days ago we
were being careful but really didn't think ECE was likely but the longer
Spot's problems last the more it become an option.  Though it's not fun or
convenient it's better to be safe than sorry and our vet is leaning more and
more to it being ECE.
 
Steve was wondering if students who get accepted into vet schools and vets
tech pregrams have to perform critter related community service, and if so
how the shelters could plug into that possible pool of help?  It may be of
use to some of you out there.
 
The babies (12 weeks) have recently discovered: how to slide down pant's
legs while the pants are being put on, that they can piloerect on their
trunks, how to dance with full pronging and proper ferret dash form.
 
Jumpstart has reach 6 months so are wondering if he's still going to grow
any more since many stop around now, or if he's always going to have huge
feet and his Alfred E. Newman - Dumbo cross ears.  Just have to wait and
see.  He's a good ferret; they all are.
 
Warp was abused before we got her and always shy around males.  For
instance, even though she has been here 2 and 1/2 years she just would not
kiss Steve.  Well, a few night ago (not sure how many -- we haven't slept
much with Spot) I showed her Steve asleep and she walked over to him and
began kissing him in his sleep.  He was conked out and did not wake upbut
made happy noises so she just kept doing it.  She STILL won't kiss him while
he's awake, BTW, but wasn't that SO sweet?
 
I am sure the insistance on the ferret testing of the bat strains has to do
with those being the ones most commonly seen in people in recent years.
Having tested the biggest problem for humans could very much work in our
critters' favor in the future.  (Don't panic -- in the first case when bats
are "up", i.e. have NOT lost use of their rear legs, the percentage infected
is in the single digits, and even down most which show neurological symptoms
have been poisoned rather than having the illness, plus extremely few folks
in the U.S.  get rabies, though precautions are needed simply because humans
are very susceptable and the illness is so dire.  BTW, the use of
rodenticides for bats is illogical -- not only is the stuff designed to seep
down where you'll be more exposed than the bats but the small amount the
bats get actually seems to increase their susceptibility to illness
including rabies.  Find someone who will study where they go in and out and
then WELL close up the opennings after they leave during a
non-nursing-non-hibernating season, but expect more mosquitoes, moths, and
insect borne illnesses after losing the bats.)
 
Sukie
[Posted in FML issue 1939]