Sheena Staples wrote:
 
>Thin ferret, black tarry stool and what sounds to me like teeth grinding.
>These are all the "classic" symptoms of an ulcer, am I right? ...
>As well, he has a fairly rotten tooth ... could this be the primary reason
>for the thinness ie a poor appetite because the tooth is bothering him?  Or
>would it primarily be the ulcer?  Or a combination of both?
 
Probably both.  Nearly all ferrets carry Helicobacter mustelae, the bacteria
thought to be the cause of gastric ulcers; it takes some stressful event or
condition to make it start causing problems, and I've heard of a couple
cases where a troublesome tooth was the stress factor.  Once an ulcer has
flared up, it doesn't go away easily without treatment.
 
Watch for the new Gastric Ulcer/ H.  mustelae FAQ, coming later this week.
(I just sent a pre-release copy to you, Sheena.)
 
--
- Pam Greene
Ferret Central <http://www.optics.rochester.edu:8080/users/pgreene/>
            or send INDEX FERRET in email to <[log in to unmask]>
[Posted in FML issue 1729]