Debate will NOT "SOLVE" anything.  That doesn't mean that the colloidal
silver debate isn't interesting and a learning opportunity; it's both.
What it means is that what still makes the MOST COMMON SENSE is to present
your vet with ALL the material at hand and DO WHAT YOUR (repeat: YOUR)
VET RECOMMENDS.  Why?  Because if the compound has the potential to be
dangerous in your own vet's estimation then it may be that it's easy to
avoid giving it (except possibly as a last resort) but not easy to correct
damage which has already occurred.  Your vet knows your critter and
therefore is the single best source of information for that animal's
welbeing!
 
If my memory isn't going we've noticed before on this list that the typical
ferret seems to live to sometime in the second half of the 7th year, with
the common range at death being late in the 6th year to early in the 8th.
(This meshes with our own ferrets during the past about 15 years , and like
others we have had a few who went much longer and a few who died earlier.)
Although, as I stated above and have said many times before -- your vet
should be the one who decides what you will do since it is often easier to
prevent a problem than it is to treat an existing one -- it might be
helpful for us to all get a feeling for the lifespans, complications, etc.
seen in ferrets treated with colloidal silver.  That shouldn't be too hard
since there are 3,000 people here and probably a chunk have tried colloidal
silver; that should offset anyone's small or young household.  NOW, A
SURVEY, ESPECIALLY ONE WITH VOLUNTARY REPLIES AND NO CHECKS IS NOT
SCIENTIFIC but it might give a handle on some interesting aspects of the
question until there's a time when ferrets are studied in relation to the
compound.  Reply to the FML, please, since I have NO time to put together a
survey's numbers now.  If someone does put the number together it will need
to be someone with no interest in how the survey turns out -- just in
learning from whatever is found.  As a result here are some ground rules
for replies from those using colloidal silver (similar to the ones used for
a survey for ferrets in general several years ago if my memory serves):
 
Ferret's age or age at death:
Is this age an estimate (not known for sure within 3 months):
Is this age actual (known within + or - minus three months):
How long has (had) the ferret been on colloidal silver:
Why was it tried?:
How was the ferret's health at the time?:
Why?:
Dose:
Source:
Frequency:
How long used:
Is it still being given?:
If so give dose, source, and frequecy:
What numbers show up on the ferret's CBC tests (preferably before and after
with you giving how long before and how long after the compound was begun)?
Since a CBC is an exceedingly common test to do on ferrets which are old or
are ill this should prove to not be a problem:
Other medical test numbers?:
What did the ferret die of?:
What other symptoms/health history/etc. were seen?:
At what ages have your other ferrets died?:
Were they treated with colloidal silver?:
Please, supply the same sorts of information for your other ferrets for a
household comparison:
 
[Moderator's note: If the FML gets flooded with replies to the survey I
will collect them and post a special issue or a summary rather than include
each response in the FML -- FML's are long enough already!  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 2567]