Anonymous: try these resources to find a ferret knowledgeable vet; they
aren't as up to date as I'd like. For instance many still don't list Joe
Martins in Bellemead AH in N.J.. Sorry about having to repeat this info
so soon, Bill, but Anonymous didn't give an address, so may as well give
everyone another chance to save these useful sites.
http://www.quincyweb.net/quincy/vet.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
http://www.thepetproject.com/starferrets.html
http://www.ferretcentral.org
http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/ferrethealth/FerretVets.htm
Do NOT forget to look at the vets who are used by shelters. You can do
this by getting a copy of the SOS list if you don't have it already. Use
the command: "SEND SHELTER LISTS" to the listserv addy above in the FML
header: <[log in to unmask]>. Don't forget search engines due to
people having mentioned such posts in the past. For instance, try
http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/ferret-search.html .
BTW, several people asked questions today who could get vet-supplied info
by using such server options and the ones below my signature including
their links. In situations in which ferret-knowledgeable vet and other
health-related expert replies are needed in a timely fashion the FHL
(Ferret Health List) has a much better than average chance of helping,
although that sometimes is partly dependent upon which vets are not away
at conferences and the like, partly dependent on how recently a similar
question has been answered, and partly dependent on how how complete the
information given is (for example actual test results when available) --
all of those being features which affect any ferret list with vet members
such as the FML (Ferret Mailing List). There are some folks who get
confused about the various lists, so we FHL moderators wind up passing
along compliments or questions meant for Bill Gruber periodically, and
visa versa.
Another BTW, sadly a number of vets simply are NOT current on ferret
health. You can help them by directing them to reputable on-line
resources with vet comments and articles, to veterinary text books such
as Dr. Karen Purcell's _Essentials of Ferrets_ on AAHA Press, Doctors
Katherine Quesenberry and Elizabeth Hillyer's _Ferrets, Rabbits and
Rodents_ by Saunders which is due to have a second edition sometime in
coming months, and James Fox's _Biology and Diseases of the Ferret,
second edition_ from Williams and Wilkins. At least there are many ways
for vets to learn now, before 1989 there weren't texts so just imagine
what it was like then. Early on the internet, and the original (not any
later re-births) of rec.pets.alt.ferrets, then the Ferret Mailing List
which began over 15 years ago were the options that existed, and they
were critical in improving ferret health care. Vets do NOT need to
remain in the stone age for ferret health needs since information IS
available, so, please, do pass on such information to vets to help them
and the ferrets.
>Hi. I've had 9 ferrets all live on Iams kitten (we started out in a
>Michigan when ferrets were illegal, and it's all I could get). My oldest
>passed away 2 weeks shy of her ninth birtday. The others are between 6
>and 8. None of them have had any urinary tract infections or crystals.
If there is a question about how an individual copes with a food then the
urine's pH can be checked. If it is too alkaline then the food can be
changed and perhaps even a urine acidifier can be added.
More commonly, such problems are secondary to the adrenal disease
hormonal cascade in ferrets. Here is a prostate compilation which will
also answer a number of such questions:
http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/ferrethealth/prostate.txt
for either gender, though it is mostly prostate material.
Back before there ever were specilized foods except for a few for certain
illnesses we had only one develop urinary crystals and he had adrenal
disease.
That said, I have heard reports from Britain in the last year (Use the
search engines to find the originals) about some companies wanting to
jump rapidly into ferret products which introduced foods so high in
some starches that they caused alkaline urine and allowed minerals to
precipitate out, causing crystals. In all areas of ferret products there
are those out for a quick buck. Just think of the places selling latex
or rubber toys as ferret toys then killing them with blockages, or the
ones selling very hard and large dried fruits and veggies for ferrets
causing malnutrition and fatal blockages, or the ones marketing cedar for
ferrets and causing lung damage, etc. .
The SOS Shelter List from June is in the Files section, too:
http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/ferrethealth/shelter.txt
as are many other useful articles that will help save ferrets.
Sukie
For ferret health information:
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth (Ferret Health List)
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/ (easy to search FHL Archives)
http://geocities.com/sukieslist (in need of updating, links for
health concerns)
[Posted in FML issue 3881]
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