**The advice dispensed by myself in reference to FML postings is not meant to supplant the advice of veterinarians who are in charge of the patient. If the patient is not currently under the care of a veterinarian, the client is recommended to take their ferret to one.** >From: "Erynn D. Dalton" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: For the vet (or anyone else who may know) >... has been kind of sickly for the past couple of months. She seems to >have some type of respiratory problem (hacking, coughing, wheezing and >sneezing a lot). ... Have the vet take a chest x-ray. Chronic respiratory problems that do not respond to antibiotics point to some other problem than a bacterial infection. Other possiblities include asthma (unlikely), allergies (possible), viral infection (possible) or juvenile lymphosarcoma. >From: stephanie ann maehr <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Help, I need advice! >Hi, all. My vet and I are baffled. One of my precious little ones, Sophie, >vomits on occasion, usually once a month. It's only one episode, but ... Furballs is one possibility. Others include a food allergy. If your pets are not on a hairball remedy, try it for a month. It won t hurt if it not hairballs. >From: "D. Steele" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Scooter has heart problems- need advice/second opinion. That dosing of the diuretic is appropriate. The diuretic has a wide range of safe dosages and the 1/4 ml once daily is at the bottom part of that range. The cardoxin (generic name = digitalis) is probably okay also (there are a few different concentrations out there). Most heart problems in ferrets are a disease called cardiomyopathy and digitalis may help. An ultrasound would confirm the diagnosis but the odds of it being something else are very, very small. Your vet should treat the ferret similar to a cat with dilated cardiomyopathy. >From: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: About ear-mites -- confusing! >I have gotten so many conflicting reports about ear-mites. One person told >me that anyone anywhere near the ferret or anything it had been on was prone >and should be treated as infected. Another person said nope -- only cats Ferrets, dogs, rabbits and cats can all get ear mites. The mite does live outside the ear canal also and can be contagious to other pets. >From: Elizabeth Draus <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Spaying stuff Whether and what to vaccinate with is up to the individual veterinarian. Most vets will bring your pet up to date on the airborne diseases such as distemper to minimize infection in the hospital. Since rabies is transmitted (almost exclusively) through bites and pets are kept in separate hospital cages, many do not require it. Another possibility is that your vet is trying to minimize vaccine reactions be separating out the vaccines. For maximum protection, you ferret should be vaccinated before the visit. The estrogen that causes the vulva to swell is now no longer being produced by the ovaries (because she does not have any now) but the hormone takes some time to bio- degrade in the body. Usually the vulva will start to decrease in size in 1 to 4 weeks. >From: "Whitten, Carrie L" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Adrenal Tumor >I wrote in a while a go about my ferret, Rascal, losing fur on his back. >Well his fur is still falling out. The second blood test and vet visit was >not good. I personally am not a fan of using ultrasound as the diagnostic test for adrenal disease. There are to many false negatives, that is the adrenal gland is not enlarged enough to show up on an ultrasound. I either use an exploratory surgery or the Univ. of Tennessee adrenal test for diagnosis. Adrenal tumors can be malignant but they spread only very late in the disease, so the idea of a spreading cancer eating up your pet does not apply for adrenal tumors. Your ferret s life with the tumor is shorter than normal but no one has a firm statistic on how long that is. Also, do not forget the medical option of treating the tumor with lysodren. It works well for a lot of ferrets and it may be a viable option given the limited finances. >From: Kylie Preisig <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Fleas and kits >We currently have a litter of three week old kits, and both they and their >mother have fleas. The safest method is to pick them off or use a flea comb. Once older (more than 6 weeks of age), use a kitten safe product on the ferrets. Also treat the environment. >From: Stuart & Susan Wenzel <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: No Winter Weight Gain Some get fat, some don t. Don t worry about it. **HAPPY THANKSGIVING. I'll be out of town until Monday morning for any e-mail.** Mike Dutton, DVM, DABVP Weare Animal Hospital Weare, NH, USA [Posted in FML issue 1767]