Subject: Minnie! Help!!
 
>FIRST QUESTION: How come a heart would appear strange shaped to a vet,
>but be called normal by a cardiologist.
 
This is going to be a real vague answer and I apologize in advance.
Experience with a particular species is very important.  Also is the
experience in a particular specialty (such as cardiology).  And as a last
note, looking strange (or slightly abnormal or different) is not the same as
being a significant cause of disease.  This is what I call the dreaded
biological variation .  Having a heart murmur is abnormal and a you have a
difference of medical opinions on whether the x-ray is abnormal.  The best
option is to try a different testing methodology such as an ultrasound.
That is the art of medicine.  As I am sure as you read on the FML, there are
many very good opinions on the same problem encountered by ferret owners.
As to an experienced veterinarian not knowing anything about breeding
ferrets, this can be quite normal.  Most veterinarians deal with the more
medical aspects of pet ownership and not the breeding aspects.  Here in New
Hampshire, I rarely see intact male and female ferrets and I have only had
one question about breeding ferrets in the last year: hence I do not have
tons of experience about breeding ferrets.  I can answer the big questions
about ferret breeding, but I would have to look up particular minutae.
 
>QUESTION TWO: What causes heart murmers in ferrets?
 
Heart murmurs can be due to heart disease or anemia.
 
>QUESTION THREE: Could the vet be mistaken that the bowels appear enlarged?
 
Large amounts of stool (i.e., is the ferret constipated?) is very easy to
see on a x-ray.  The concern is probably not that the bowel is enlarged and
stool is piling up but that the ferret is constipated.
 
>QESTION FOUR: Is all this post diagnosis necessary if Minnie appears
>normal?
 
Medically speaking, it would be best to firmly diagnose the heart murmur
since the ferret might be susceptible to more significant heart disease if
left untreated. Financially, the decision is yours.
 
>QUESTION FIVE (the hard one): What is the underlying cause of Minnie's loss
>of energy and appetite, elevated temperature and slightly low white count
>(on the low end of normal, not abnormal)?
 
I would guess an infection/inflammation caused the fever and that caused the
loss of appetite and energy. Depending on the type of infection, that might
cause a lowered white blood cell count. The antibiotics could have been the
cure and the heart murmur is an incidental finding.
 
>QUESTION SIX: What do I do now?  I guess I'm trying to get second opinions.
>The follow-up tests would run me another $100 plus (already I've paid
>$350.00).  This would be Minnie's third x-ray - they didn't get clear ones
>at the emergency clinic.  Is it necessary?
 
See question four. I would recommend an ultrasound.
 
Mike Dutton, DVM, DABVP
Weare Animal Hospital
Weare, NH.
[Posted in FML issue 1440]