To Melissa and Potpie:
 
>Hi there, i had a question for various vets about how much a ferret
>should urinate in a day. It seems to me that my ferrets have always drank
>a lot of water, but occasionally Potpie's consumption will escalate and
>an entire corner of her litter box will be sodden - 3 or 4 inches (i
>clean it once a day) worth.  Is this normal?
 
    Melissa - Yes this is probably normal.  We see this quite a bit in our
normal ferrets.  But if this continues for several days in a row, or is
combined with other signs of disease, such as going off of food, vomiting,
diarrhea, etc., then we should start thinking about some diseases that would
cause excessive urination, such as kidney failure, diabetes, or overuse of some
drugs, such as prenisone or diuretics.
 
--
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP              Department of Veterinary Pathology
[log in to unmask]               Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]             Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
(202) 782-2600/2602
[Posted in FML issue 1188]