Hello all,
I have a question for those who may know.  My five-year-old ferret,
Buster (a.k.a., Busty Dook) recently started having some pretty bad
sneezing fits.  I thought he had maybe vacuumed up a dust bunny or two
while playing Cops & Robbers behind the sofa with the other ferrets,
so I let it go.
 
Within a day or two, he began sneezing blood.  I thought he had possibly
irritated his nasal passages from over-sneezing, or he had been bonking
his nose on the floor while sneezing & had gotten a bloody nose.  I
resolved to keep a close eye on him for a couple of days.
 
By the third day, he was waking up after every long sleep with a big,
bloody, scabby booger in his nose, and his breathing began sounding kind
of wet & heavy.  He also had some pus coming out of his...ahem...wee wee.
This was obviously not a good sign, so off to the vet we went.
 
The vet surmised that in addition to a possible upper-respiratory
infection, Busty may have some kind of growth in his nasal passages
that was causing the bleeding & sneezing.  We are taking a "wait & see"
approach; Busty is on a 2-week course of Clavamox, to clear up the
possible respiratory & urinary infections.  He is due for a follow-up
appointment after completing the Clavamox, when we will decide how to
approach the next step.  Whether this will include rhinoscopy (almost
unconsciously called it nose-oscopy, hahahahha), medication, surgery,
or benign neglect remains to be seen.
 
My question to those in the know: have you ever heard of such a thing?
If so, how did you treat it?  What was the outcome for the ferret?  I
know that ferrets are prone to all kinds of weird ailments, but this
one is new to me.  Any advice would be welcome.
 
I really, really hope this isn't the latest installment of sickness,
misery & dying for my little weasel tribe...we've really been on a roll
with that lately, and it just plain hurts when they go.  I hope to have
Busty back "bustin' dooks" pretty soon, but at this point nothing is
certain.
 
Thanks again,
Jessica
 
 
Jessica L. Manson
15 Monmouth St. #2
Boston, MA 02128
(617) 785-4533
[log in to unmask]
www.whimsyphoto.com
[Posted in FML issue 4856]