>He noticed a large amount of a bacteria in nico's stool--called it
>coxcidia (is that how you spell it?)  gave them albon liq. solution for
>them.  he thinks that is what it is...he has never seen coxcidia in
>fert. but but has in dogs and cats.  says it looks very similar.
 
Coccidia isn't a bacterium, it's a protozoan parasite of the intestinal
system.  All of our guys have had coccidia at one point and everything
I've read/heard says it's quite common in ferrets.  Albon is the right
stuff to knock it out to normal levels.
 
>If it wasn't that he felt it was g..gg...something that you get from
>water.  standing or well water..etc.  says humans get it too.  but that
>flagyl usually is excellent for that,
 
Giardia isn't that uncommon from such a source, but if your ferrets haven't
been exposed to anything like that, it's highly unlikely that this is the
problem.  I'm pretty sure this is uncommon in ferrets.  I know LOTS of
people who've had Coccidia-ferrets, but no one with a Giardia-ferret.
Flagyl is the best stuff to knock it out.  The only drawbacks are that it
has a nasty metallic taste (which ferrets don't approve of), side effects
include diarrhea and cramping (the symptoms it's supposed to take care of,
right?  :) ), and it's believed to be a carcinogen.  Many people-doctors
won't perscribe it on this basis despite the fact that it's far and away
the best treatment.
 
I would be concerned that your vet couldn't tell Coccidia from Giardia in
a fecal sample.  I'm pretty sure I could pick 'em out (after seeing both
examples in a Parasitology class I took).
                                        -Erin...
 
=========================
   Mr. Erin M. Ennis    |       Any sufficiently convoluted argument can
 eennis(at)zoo,uvm,edu  |       be made to appear to be science as the
 Water Resources Major, |       layman equates incomprehensibility with
     Biology Minor      |       science.                -Unknown
    Uni. of Vermont     |
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[Posted in FML issue 2358]