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Author wrote:
>I hope someone can help, I'm getting frustrated.  I have a not quite 2
>year old panda blaze, named Rocky, that has had problems with mucus/very
>watery stools for about as long as I can remember.  He is eating a mix
>of Totally Ferret, Zupreem, and Purina Kitten Chow, (only b/c one of my
>other ferrets has to have the kitten chow in it, or he will not eat any
>of it).  Rocky's poops have been very seedy looking, which I know
>suggests IBD, and he has seen our vet several times for it.  This
>morning, I noticed one of his poops was very watery and reddish tinged,
>so I took a sample of it into a 1cc TB syringe, and noticed it also had
>mucus in it, clear in color.  Took him in to the vet this am, a fecal
>was done which was negative, and the vet diagnosed him with heliobacter
>gastritis.  Was given amoxicillen and metronidazole to give him for the
>next 2 weeks, if it has not cleared up, then the vet is talking a biopsy
>of the large intestine to see if it is in the large bowel instead of the
>small bowel.  Rocky is deaf, and has the Waardenburg's markings.  I can
>recall reading about ferrets with WS being prone to a host of other
>diseases, but can't remember where I read it.  I'm wanting to say Dr.
>Williams had posted something on it.  Is there a list somewhere that I
>can check to see what other things Rocky may have wrong with him?  I'm
>no way going to give him up or anything like that, I just want to know
>what to keep a careful eye out for.
 
The symptoms and age of this ferret are not truly suggestive of
Helicobacter.  While Helicobacter can rarely cause some loose stools,
the duration and mucusy consistency of these stools really do not fit
the clinical picture of Helicobacter.
 
The idea of a biopsy is a very good one, especially in cases of chronic
diarrhea.  However, I would suggest the small intestine as the source of
the problem and the most likely site of the biopsy.  Large intestinal
disease most often results in frequent painful defecations and a lot of
straining, rather than birdseedy poops.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 4239]