Here is some random news (we've been very busy for some time and
haven't been keeping up with the mailing list). The most important
are the results we've been getting with Fritter - our ferret with
cancer.
[Hi. Have you heard from Shu-ju at all? Her machine went unknown
a year or more ago, and haven't heard a thing since]
Fritter, who is 6 1/2 years old is being treated for
lymphosarcoma with tumor on spleen and pancreas and enlarged
spleen (dramatically improved since predisone) with possible
insulinoma (a tumor which produces insulin and crashes the blood
sugar) as well. She can not be stabilized well enough to
consider surgery because of drops in blood sugar. Her first
symptoms included blood sugar dropping which resulted in severe
convulsions requiring resusitation 3 times, with very red and hot
front paws and no urinary incontinence, dramatically swollen
lymph nodes (especially of throat), some hair loss on tail,
slight tiredness, and a slightly enlarged vulva. Problems began
during the first week of May (almost 9 weeks ago) but exotics vet
we had then did not know how to handle it and advised putting her
down.
Treatments: Prednisone (given as Prelone Syrup mixed with about
1 Tbsp of Nutrical) 2/3 ml once daily. Another dosage being
tested elsewhere, also with good results is 1/4 ml twice a day.
Must be given with food. This is now recommended treatment for
lymphosarcoma and for insulinoma.
Control of blood sugar crashing: Nutrical (which also supplies
extra nutrients and calories very badly needed with cancer) given
both from tube and mixed into water as soup left handy 24 hours a
day, assorted fruits left handy all day and night, other sweets.
Some ferrets do not monitor their own blood sugar well and those
get 5 mg 2/day of proglycem. Frit is able to time her own sugar
consumption, down now to needing sugar usually only every 3 hours
since prednisone makes insulin less effective.
Problems with Reduced Resistance to Disease: Like folks with
cancer Frit easy catches things. So far, she has had 2 viruses.
We quickly got her on antibiotics to prevent secondary bacterial
infections and controlled the diarrhea with thick rice water
(cook rice -- preferably short grain which is starchier-- with
too much water till you get a pasty fluid when you put it trough
a strainer) mixed with Nutrical. (Yes, she's going through a LOT
of Nutrical, which turns out to NOT be a bad thing for a ferret
with cancer. In fact, vet says Nutrical seems to be a pretty
safe nutitional aid for ferrets, but could you ever imagine one
in normal health needing as much as 3 tubes a week? Still, it IS
working and you can't argue with survival in an animal who was
thought to be doomed, but is now having her appointments
scheduled 2 months apart. Thanks VERY, VERY much to Nancy
Hartman who has saved us about $40 a month on Frit's care by
telling us about J&B Wholesale Pet Supplies (1-800-526-0388).
Additional Problems: For whatever reason Fritter's ticker has
been having problems with dropped beats and flutters with this
illness. Those problems have also reduced dramatically on the
medication.
One thing we plan to do is test our others for anti-bodies to
Aleutian Disease, since Frit is our second with lymphosarcoma
(Helix was 4 years ago) and since Hjalmar has a chronically
larger than normal spleen, tendencies toward these problems
increase with exposure to Aleutian. If positive we will not add
any ferrets until our 4 pass away (hopefully many, many years
from now) naturally, and will then sterilize everything.
[What is Aleutian disease?]
Non-related stuff: Path Valley farms spays their females the
same way my gynecologist did me, but their incisions are vertical
along the midline so they disappear on ferrets. Has anyone
REALLY done a study to show if animals altered at a higher age
live longer? I've searched for such a study without luck and
wonder if it may be more casual observation which needs study.
The animal medical center in Colorado may not get enough
money to study rabies shedding time in ferrets. If not, they
will possibly have enough money to study cancers, nutrition, and
other essential topics IF clubs and individuals DO NOT specify
that the moneys can only be used for rabies shedding studies.
When that happens they have to return the cash. This is not to
say that shedding time is not important (though the other studies
may save more lives), largely because people panic with false
reporting about ferrets and because of rabies epidemics, all I am
saying is that you may not want to make your contribution (We
give in the 3 figures each year; can't ferret owners in general
spare $1 or more?) applicable to only shedding studies, but will
want to specify the ferret fund.
The Black Footed Ferret Fund is starting a trial reinstatement
this year. To overcome opposition the ferrets in that particular
small area had to be down graded in status from endangered. We
aren't keen on that, but it has worked to ease in other
reinstatement projects in the past and may be the only possible
compromise. There are a lot of kits this year and successful
lighting techniques have been developed to extend the possible
years of breeding (snychronization is a problem with animals not
in peak breeding years).
Re: tail hair loss: There are many possible causes from
cancers, to non-cancerous tumors, to diet, to parasites (such as
ear mites which like the tail almost as much as the ears in
ferrets), to plain old dry skin. Eliminate the serious causes,
look for parasites, and consider adding some SATURATED fat to
ferret's diet if other causes aren't there (butter, NOT margarine
works well) and moisturizing with things like citrus oil spray
(Eco-safe products, PO Box 1177, St. Augustine, FL 32085).
Sukie, Steve, Fritter, Hjalmar, Meltdown and Ruffle Crandall
[Posted in FML 0152]
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