http://www.smartgroups.com/message/readmessage.cfm? gid=1423922&messageid=7492&startid=7498 Author wrote: >Background info >Precious my now 11 week old ferret was purchased December 22. She was >taken to the veterinarian and given a clean bill of health along with >her distemper shot. She then began introductions with my established 3 >ferrets. Three days later she vomited once during an especially rough >bout of play. This happened again on the two successive days, exact >same scenario. > >She was taken to the vet given a regular x ray, fecal, and bloodwork. >The xray and fecal were both normal. The irregular findings from the >CBC panel were: > > Hemoglobin 11.3 g/dL(low) > Hematocrit 32.3 %(low) > WBC 8900 (high) > alkaline Phosphatase 255 U/L(high) > Phosphorus 8.7 mg/dL (high) > Potassium 116 g/dL (high) > Chloride 2.4 g/dL (low) >She was then placed on amoxycillin. Each mL contains 50mg of >amoxicillin (concentration) with .4cc given every 12 hours. > >She did not stop vomiting. The vomiting continued 1 time per day for >5 days and then 2 times on the 6th day. These times she was out of the >cage, but not engaged in active play. > >Precious was again taken to the vet for a barium xray. The resulting >xray showed no evidence of a blockage. She is now on carafate 1/8 >tablet in .5cc of water every 8 hours and pepto bismol .5cc every 8 >hours. > >Throughout the entire time she has had firm stools, urinates with no >problem, eats, drinks, and plays very actively. In all she is showing >no symptoms of any problem except for the 5 seconds out of every day >when she vomits. > >At this point there is no definite diagnosis of what the problem may be, >and I would appreciate any further advice and information. A couple of notes: Foreign bodies are always the #1 cause of vomiting in young ferrets. Even though you have a negative X-ray and barium X-ray, 70% of foreign bodies are negative with this panel. The fact that she vomits during play is also compatible with a foreign body. The anemia suggests the possibility of a gastric ulcer - not unusual in young ferrets adjusting to a new household and pecking order. An ulcer may also cause vomiting. Pepto-Bismol offers nothing beyond what the carafate does, and is stressful to administer. I'm not a fan, and it causes or worsens stress ulcers. For ulcers, the carafate is better administered 10 minutes before a meal, rather than every 8 hours, and I usually switch to a bland diet if I am thinking ulcers. With kindest regards, Bruce Williams, dVM [Posted in FML issue 4397]