Hi everyone,
I have a problem with some sick fuzzies and wanted to see what advice/info
you all might have.
 
I have four ferrets that had never been exposed to ECE (at least not that I
knew of since they are all "rescues") and I brought home three newbies from
two different homes.  The previous owners knew of no prior illnesses or
injuries (well, at least that is what they said).  None of the new ones
were actively showing signs of ECE when I brought them home.
 
Now, the symptoms were vomiting(projectile) from at least 3 of them
(including one of the new ones), followed by the nastiest smelling neon
green poopie I have ever seen (or smelled!), and then the bird seedy stuff.
Once we got to the point where some were having the green poops and others
were at the bird seed stage, I was absolutely sure it was ECE.  But, ALL 7
of them were showing symptoms at about the same pace.  If it is ECE, then
how would the carriers of it become sick again?  Granted, the new kids are
doing very well now and their poopies are looking pretty normal again
(still some "seeds" in it though), but I was under the impression that once
infected and recovered, they don't become ill with it again.  Is it
possible that it could be some other type of infection?
 
The reason I am concerned about this is because one of my 1yr old sable
males is not responding to treatment very well.  He has had to have sub-q
fluids 5 out of the last 7 days, he is still rather lethargic most of the
time, still has really nasty seedy poops, and is still grinding his teeth
when I force feed him.  He had been trying to eat a bit on his own for a
couple of days, but in the last 24 hrs he has stopped again.  I know there
are many types of viruses and bacteria that can cause diarrhea, but from
the symptoms, I was certain I was dealing with ECE.  Now I wonder if it
could be something else.  I was told that the next step would be to do a
biopsy of the intestinal/stomach tissues to look for other causes since he
is not responding well to the current treatments.  That just seems too be a
little extreme and I don't want to put him through it if it can be avoided.
 
The list of current meds that he is on is: Reglan 2x's/day; Interferon
(anti-viral) 1 x/day; Amoxi 2x's/day; Pepto 0.5cc twice/day; and Pepcid
A/C (one tab crushed in 5 cc's of water) 0.5cc twice/day.  I have been
spreading all of these out so the pepto doesn't interfere with the other
meds, and I give the pepcid about an hour before two of the feedings.  He
is also getting Duck Soup 3-4 times a day (for a total of 90cc's/day) and
Pedialyte (about 15cc's/day).  The only other thing that I have yet to try
(but have here at the house) is Probiacin(sp?) to help replace the good
bacteria that the antibiotic has killed off.  I was told by the vet that it
wouldn't hurt to start it now even while on the amoxi and that even if the
amoxi did kill it off, I would be replacing it frequently enough to still
do some good.  We have been doing the amoxi for 14 days now as well as the
pepto.  All of the other meds have just been for the last 7 days.
 
I apologize for the length of this, but I am really having difficulty trying
to figure out what I can try next.  The poor little guy has lost almost 10%
of his body weight in the past four weeks and I just don't know if I am
missing something or if I should continue this course of treatment or what.
I do still have a couple of others still having the seedy poops too, but
they are all active and alert and eating on their own now.  This little
fuzzy has had no other health problems that I am aware of that would
aggravate the ECE and has had x-rays done that didn't show anything other
than thickening of the intestines.  All of them have also been treated with
ivermectin within the last month (prior to the onset of this) given orally
for earmites.  I was told this should have taken care of most parasites any
of the new ones might have had as well.  Any thoughts or suggestions on what
I should try next to help my little fertie boy?
 
Thanks in advance for any help!!
Stacia and the gang
Krishna, Rama, Kali, Sati, Lakshmi, Tandu, and Bhut
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[Posted in FML issue 2425]