Hey All:
 
Hopefully somebody out there might have some idea what's going on with our
Harp weasel.
 
About two months ago, Harp caught the flu.  At least that's what it seemed
like; he had all the symptoms.  We isolated him, made sure he had plenty of
food, water, and heat, and put him on antibiotics as a preventative for any
infection, all per our vet's advice.
 
Well, he got over the flu but then got a severe bacterial infection of some
kind.  He got a high fever and became absolutely lethargic.  We took him in
for tests which confirmed the infection, and we put him on some heavy duty
antibiotics (Clavamox, among others) and hand fed him.  Every few days he
went in for additional checkups and received shots of dextrose and ringer's
lactate to keep him hydrated and balanced.
 
For a while (roughly two weeks) he had terrible problems with "spiking"
body temps.  He would be totally normal, then suddenly his body temperature
would begin to rise...within minutes he'd be at 108 degrees or so!  My wyfe
and our vet actually watched this happen "live" over the course of 15
minutes or so.  Once his temp got high, he'd begin panting until he cooled
back off (which took roughly half an hour).
 
While the temperature swings have gone away, Harp is NOT yet up and around.
He has use of all his legs, and sits up a bit to see what's going on around
him, but he won't get up or walk.  His appetite is thin at best, so we're
feeding him soft Hill's Science Diet two or three times a day (by force if
necessary) so he gets something into his system.  He's been tested for
everything we can think of...no parasites, no infection, no virus, no organ
problems.  Our vet even tested him for malaria--NOTHING.
 
So....we've got a ferret that won't move on his own, that seems healthy
and alert otherwise.  We know his legs work because he can drag himself
around by his front legs to water, and he'll kick with his back legs when
he gets a bath (which is a lot these days, since he won't get up to use a
litterbox).  His appetite is lighter than it ought to be, and he's lost 5
ounces since this all started, but he seems to be holding in there.
 
Our vet has checked with some of the local vet schools and they've no idea
what's going on.  Her records show that she did have *one* other ferret, 10
years ago, that had similar symptoms, but he only came into the office once
and died shortly thereafter.  They never figured out what was wrong with
him either.
 
Any thoughts anybody?
 
Steve
[Posted in FML issue 2956]