To Anonymous poster:
 
>I'm posting on behalf of a friend I work with.  He has a female, 5 yr old
>ferret that has been neutered & descented.  In the last week she has begun
>to swell, abdomen and extremities!  He says she feels "mushy".  She is not
>running a temperature, but her exposed skin has become pink(er).  She is also
>becoming increasingly lethargic.  He says that his vet can't figure out what
>the problem is.  Any ideas?
 
    Well - that's certainly not much to go on.  The abdominal swelling is
usually due to fluid accumulation.  The two main causes of abdominal fluid
(also known as ascites) in ferrets are heart failure and a tumor in the
abdomen.  I would recommend a thoracic and abdominal X-ray, coupled with a
CBC and chemistry panel to start narrowing down the possibilities.  The
lethargy certainly goes along with heart failure (most common cause of this
is cardiomyopathy).  The pinkness of the exposed skin doesn't really ring
any bells.
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP                                   Dept. of
Veterinary Pathology
AccuPath
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]  OR                                 Washington, D.C.
20306-6000
[log in to unmask]
(202) 782-2600
[Posted in FML issue 1263]