I saw someone else posted about their ferrets getting the flu. We have
just gone through the same thing - it's day 11 for the ferrets. The
worst is over (hopefully) but the ferrets aren't back to normal yet
(vet says normally 10-14 days). They were lethargic, sneezing a lot,
and at the worst part of it, so stuffed up they couldn't eat. Like the
other poster, I used a Vick's vaporizor that I got at the drug store.
The more salt you add to the water the more steam comes out so the
worst they sounded the more salt I added. My vet also prescribed an
antibiotic 2x/day 14 days to prevent secondary infection. On top of
that, I used a low dose of kids benadryl for the worst days and baby
saline drops for their noses. A few drops would make them sneeze and
clean out their nasal passages making it a little easier to breath.
Every ferret got soup a couple times a day until they felt up to
eating regular food again.

Since this flu season may be worse than normal with 2 flu's going
around, it's good to bring this information up for others who may have
to deal with it. I've owned ferrets for over 15 years now, and in those
15 years my household has never had the flu. This year we did, the
ferrets caught it, and it was the first time I've ever had to deal with
this type of illness in ferrets! I asked around to other ferret owners
what the best course of treatment would be, and got the advice of two
vets. It wasn't easy over the past week and a half (especially having
the flu myself for 5 days) to have to give several ferrets meds 3-4x
times a day, make soup and sometimes force feed it to them but even
my ferrets with severe illnesses made it through.

Good luck to anyone else who has to deal with this!

Linda

[Posted in FML 6550]