>From: Anonymous Poster <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Virus????? > >Has any shelter or anyone with ferrets for that matter, been >experiencing a virus that consists of loose green stool turning to >tarry stool, loosing weight quic kly, vomiting blood, and death >usually within 2-4 days? Dear Anon, Without tests, either diagnostic or from a necropsy, it's difficult to verify it's a virus causing the illness and death. A bacterial infection could do the same, as could lymphoma of the stomach. You don't give a lot of information. Is it a young, middle age or older ferret? Is it the only ferret in the household or one of several? A new or established ferret? Is it the only death with these signs or have there been more than one? Since you give a range from 2-4 days it sounds like you may have lost more than one with these symptoms. Has a necropsy been done to determine if it is an isolated cause or if it is possibly contagious? While it could be a number of things, my first suspicion would be an ulcer. Typically, the ferret would stop eating as much, due to discomfort, causing stool changes and weight loss, possibly rapidly dehydrating. If the ulcer was located closely enough to a major blood supply, once it ulcerated deeply enough, the ferret could bleed out quickly, passing black tarry digested blood. The stomach likely filled with blood, either from the bleeding ulcer or shock, nauseating him, and he vomited that out. The green slimy stool for the couple of days prior could easily be from stress, as the ferret was probably feeling ill and it affected his digestive process. A ferret can have a bleeding ulcer long before there is enough digested blood to show up in a stool. This is why it is so very important to treat ulcers immediately and aggressively until they are completely healed. There is a good webpage on ulcers below. While the article is older, the information is still good. http://www.afip.org/ferrets/ulcers.html Helicobacter is bacteria, and often the basic cause of ulcers. Couple this with stress from anything from being surrendered into a new home or shelter, the absence of a favored loved one (owner leaves for college), or a change in their environment, to underlying illness such as adrenal disease or insulinoma, and you've got a good case of Helicobacter with ulcers. I know of one ferret that crashed simply because his beloved family moved him downstairs to keep him away from the smell while they painted his room. I recently took in a group of 4 ferrets, all 4-6 year olds, and we needed to take three of the four ferrets through Amoxi and Biaxin for Helicobacter and treat for ulcers. Other possibilities I could suspect include lymphoma of the stomach, poisoning, severe hairballs/foreign object or, as you feared, the presence of a new viral infection. Hopefully you had necropsies done and can share with us the findings when you get the results. My condolances on your losses. Julie Julie Fossa FL (772)228-9067 winters OH (419)225-8383 summers West Central Ohio Ferret Shelter http://www.wcofs.org International Ferret Congress http://ferretcongress.org/ [Posted in FML issue 5352]