Nose color changes are normal and have been discussed in the past on F-G
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Genetics/
with some great photos used at the time so some people may want to see
the archives there.
The development of things like lentigenes (raised, highly pigmented
areas of skin) or growths on the nose is not normal, though.
BTW, speaking of lentigenes although I have not seen any instance of
Leopard Syndrome (a neural crest genetic medical disorder including dark
spotting and lentigenes which often has some related very serious health
concerns) in ferrets there is an instance mentioned in F-G of photos in
the Ferpharm site of what may be a ferret or a mink which has what might
be this medical disorder. The skin is not shown, only the spotted fur,
and it is listed among ferrets but some people in Scandinavia report that
ST began telling the fur industry there that he now has a spotted mink
he wants to focus on. So, is this a mink or is this a ferret? The fur
looks very mink-like, but ferret fur can do that, too. Most likely he
just clumps them together. (Yes, this is the same person who breeds
angoras and more, is currently threatening to kill about 800 breeding
stock ferrets, and who is facing the bird abuse case after already being
previously convicted of a ferret abuse crime.)
>Question to anyone. Charlene sent me a web page to read over but...
> ... Running a fever 102.9 on amox. with pred. from vet.
102.9 is not a fever. Ferret normal temps are 101 to 103 degrees F.
I kind of wish there was a fever because then it would sound more
like it might be a systemic infection. Yes, a malignancy like
lymphoma/lymphosarcoma is possible, though I still would not rule out
infection, esp. if surgery just occurred. * Was the spleen sent out
for pathology? * That is important. Was a CBC with CHEMISTRY PANEL
run? Ultrasound done? Results?
Do you have past Ferrets magazines there? If so, do read Dr. Bruce
Williams' excellent article on lympho. If not, go to
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
and read it there.
Remember that aspirates have a pretty high false result rate in either
direction, with false negatives being more common than false positives.
Influenza: Yes, ferrets get Influenza A strains. They also can share
bacterial sinus infections with humans. What they don't get (and you can
check with past posts of Dr. Bruce Williams in the FML and FHL Archives,
and vet texts) is true colds. True colds are caused by rhinoviruses and
obviously therefore don't respond to antibiotics. Sinus infections look
like colds but are bacterial in origin and therefore respond to the right
antibiotics (though an increasing number are developing antibiotic
resistance due to antibiotic misuse).
FML Archives:
http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/ferret-search.html
FHL Archives:
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org
-- Sukie
http://www.keralanext.com/news/?id=98179 (not the best news for Nevada)
[Posted in FML issue 4769]
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