Original question:
>when our ten month old ferret had her spleen removed, she had the same
>thing happen, except for the bladder problem.  I was told when I called
>the vet that this was "normal"???  due to the i.v. site that they had
>put into her bone marrow??
 
Your ferret may have had an intraosseous (IO) line put in, it goes into
the bone marrow, fluid put into it then goes into the circulation from
there.  It is used when a vein can't be found elsewhere.  Most don't get
this kind of line, but I would belive that it would hurt only the leg the
IO was in.  Rare complications from IV or IO lines are emboli, fat (IO)or
from blood (IO/IV), infection, in an IO line maybe a fracture- but all of
these are very rare, and would be found almost immediately following the
IV use- or definitely within a few days.  Some clues may be pain at the
site, swelling, redness or fever.
 
Patty
(disclaimer, I am extrapolating this from what I see in children with IO
lines- I don't work with ferrets)
[Posted in FML issue 3699]