To those of you who have read my postings yet, my name is Randy , the
ferret guy from Especially Ferrets Inc, Colorado's only licensed ferret
rescue and shelter, and apretty large and active shelter at that.  I am
not a vet or even a vet tech, but am well versed in ferret medicine and
treatment by the many vets that take care of all my shelter kids.  I hope
with posting to offer some valuable info to those that don't know yet what
I'm about to write.
 
First, my heart goes out to all of you who lost your beloved fuzzies on the
fml today.  As a no kill shelter and hospice for the dying, I deal with the
pain on a regular basis.  I cry for everyone we lose here and promise to
see them again at the Bridge.  I even feel your pain and hope it will go
away soon.
 
To Paula Frederici, I sorry for your loss of Guido.  I have seen what your
vet describes a couple dozen time in the last couple years.  A certain
breeder in NY alters their babies at 5 days old.  Their endrocrine system
isn't even fully developed nor are their eyes open yet.  They go through
life sorta normal on the outside but inside, their endocrine system is
working overtime.  There is a study out that was in the JAVMA Vol. 216 NO
2 dated Jan 15, 2000 that leads to the conclusion that early age altering
causes hyperadrenocorticism in ferrets.  The study doesn't say that it
causes other tumors in ferrets, but after seeing thousands of ferrets with
tumors , ones that occur in an early age, involving, the pancreas, liver,
or basically all parts of the endocrine system, many believe and refer to
these particular ferrets as tumor factories.  Don't get me wrong, as I love
them as much as the next fuzzy as they can't help the lot they have been
dealt in life.  But I have had many, even as young as one year old, vibrant
and healthy in appearance and activity, just drop dead, from a growth on
the vena cava or other major vessel, which would weaken the walls of the
vessel andf cause it to rupture, causing death in minutes.  Hopes this can
put your question to rest and maybe help others.  These tumors are not
palpatable, and difficult to see with x-ray or ultrasound.
 
Next question I would like to answer goes out to Jen Ott and her bunch.
Your fuzzies butt is suffering from a prolapsed rectum.  Depending on his
age and where he comes from, it could be the result of
A) damage to the nerve controlling the sphincter muscle during altering,
B) prolonged diarrhea.
 
Using a sterile glove, apply some Preparation H on his rectum 3X a day.
If it is bleeding, it is imperative you take him to vet right away.  My
prayers to you and your fuzzies, hope all is well soon!
 
There were some questions on Giardia and It was said that there aren't
many postings on the subject.  Well, Colorado is especially notoriuos for
Giardia.  It was discovered here in Colorado by guess who.... Dr. Giardi
from the University of Colorado.  It is a one celled protozoan parasite,
something like a omoeba, and affects different animals to different
degrees.  It is primarily the densest in mountain springs and rivers, but
is also very common in some municipality drinking watersheds.  I had
several discussions with the water dept in my own county as we had constant
Giardia problems here at the shelter when we first started out.  I was
informed that the water treatment system does not filter out Giardia, that
they are aware of the problem and that they aren't responsible for its
removal from the drinking water system.  They sent me several pages of
scientific info on the subject and told me if I didn't like it, use bottled
water.  Well ever since then, all our taps have water filters on them that
state they are good to remove 99.9% Giardia.  We double filter the water
all the kids get here at the shelter.  Sometimes some kids that we have
adopted out will show up for their first checkup with Giardia and we go
through the whole shelter and replace all the filters again to make sure
we are safe.  We also advise all new family that they must use bottled or
filtered water for the kids.  For treatment medically, you should be using
Flagyl at 100mg per ml in suspension at a dosage of .30 mls per lb of body
weight along with the amoxicillin at a dosage .25 mls per lb of body
weight.  I would also reccommend that you keep maalox around in case their
tummy gets upset as sometimes they won't eat and the acids in their stomach
can get strong enough to cause ulcers and I mean some bad ones in the
stomach and intestinal tract.  Also, some antibiotics can suppress their
appetites and that along with the fact that they already feel lousy can be
a dangerous situation.  A regimen of twice a day for 10-14 days should do
it for the Giardia organism.
 
We have a sign up in our sick room that says, please pay attn to med
schedules, missed meds can kill.  Once you start your poor sick little
fuzzy on meds, please do not miss meds, you can cause the organism to
become resistant to the drugs, then it's really a serious uphill balttle.
 
Also, switch to bottled water, as you will continue to reinfect your
fuzzies with Giardia.
 
Last note, Giardia can only be transmitted from the water and from foot to
mouth( stepping in bad stool and licking feet)  Also if your fuzzy is not
eating like they should, force feed,and make sure that your fuzzy is
getting 60ccs of fluids every 24 hours.
 
If any one has more questions on Giardia, e-mail me and I will send the
same literature that I have from Dr. Giardi
 
Hugs to all the the fuzzies from the ferretguy
[Posted in FML issue 2998]