From: Lynn McIntosh [faiml@uswest.net] Sent: Tuesday, February 29, 2000 1:47 AM To: FAIMLanon; FAIML Cc: faiml@miamiferret.org Subject: FAIML #393; Feb. 28, 2000 Ferret Adrenal/Insulinoma Mailing List (FAIML) #393; Feb. 28, 2000 1. Unusual problem - thickened intestinal wall? 2. Distemper Vaccine Reaction 3. Update on the Late Solo 4. Update on Cedes 5. Heart Murmor 6. Heart Murmor 7. Brian and Kato The FERRET ADRENAL/INSULINOMA MAILING LIST (FAIML) is a group that's come together to share support and information about adrenal and insulinoma diseases. FAIML comes out in digest format three to six times per week, depending on the number of posts sent, and their surgency. FAIML information is the opinion, only, of subscribers, mostly ferret caretakers. It is not medical advice, comes with no guarantee of accuracy, and is not meant to replace the examination and medical oversight of a qualified veterinarian. If your ferret is sick or exhibiting signs of illness take your fur kid to the most ferret- experienced vet you can find! A ferret- experienced vet is one of the most important services you can provide to your ferret. TO POST: Write POST at the end of your subject heading (the more specific you can be in your subject heading, the better) and send to . URGENT POSTS: If you feel the message is urgent please mark it POST URGENT and I'll send it out to subscribers as soon as I can, then include the message in the next list. CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS: Please write POST ANONYMOUS after your subject heading if you don't want your address or last name published. SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE: Just use the one address for posts, subscription questions, requests, cancellations, comments, etc. The list is run by hand so just send me an email. ADRENAL/INSULINOMA WEBSITE: FAIML ARCHIVES/PHOTOS: Past FAIMLs are being archived, with a search feature, on Michael Janke's adrenal/insulinoma web site: . Michael is also kindly posting pictures of FAIML subscribers and the ferrets at this site in the FAIML Album. Check out his site for more info. PAM GREENE's FERRET FAQs: I suggest people read (and reread) Pamela Greene's Disease FAQ's on Insulin and Adrenal diseases, as they offer a good background. I forward them to all new subscribers, and will gladly send them upon request. I also send the "Disease Package", a file that tells how to get all six of Pamela Greene's FAQs on ferret diseases. Pam also has excellent FAQ's about general ferret care as well, and a link to these may be found on the FERRET CENTRAL web site: . THE FERRET MAILING LIST (FML): The FML has 3,000+ ferret-loving subscribers and the topic is simply ferrets, ferrets, and more ferrets. Moderated by Mr. Bill Gruber, it's a great source of ferret entertainment and information. Visit FERRET CENTRAL on the web (see paragraph above) for more info on the FML. To subscribe to the FML, send email to its moderator, Bill Gruber, at and ask to be added. You can also try subscribing automatically by sending email to with the command SUBSCRIBE FERRET in the body of the email. 1. Unusual problem - thickened intestinal wall? From: "Linda Knights" Date sent: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 11:09:40 -0800 Hi all, Have an unusual problem and I'm hoping someone else has been down the road themselves and might give me some advice. I have a 6+ year old ferret, Bear, who last year (in May) had adrenal surgery. He recovered completely, regrew his fur and was doing fine. This boy is a rescue so I'm estimating his age but I believe he's near what I quote above. He's always been very heavy. We assumed that it is partially due to some neglect and starvation when he was young. Since we've had him he's been a big eater and carried a very "wide load". About 4-5 months ago, about 6 months after his surgery, he suddenly started to lose a lot of weight. Our ferrets all "live large" (ie no cages) and so it is a little hard to keep track of who is doing what but Bear started to periodically vomit. He gradually lost about 3/4 of a pound - from 3 lbs to 2.25 lbs. And was continuing to periodically vomit - despite a good appetite. We took him in to the vet and she X-rayed him. Found no intestinal blockage but the lining of his stomach and the upper stretch of his intestines had thickened walls - very white in the X-ray. She suggested we supplement with more baby food (chicken) to keep his diet as bland as possible, put him on prednisone and hoped it would resolve. 2 months later we have basically the same situation. With extra feedings of baby food (which he never vomits) he has gained back up to 2.5 lbs and is rarely vomiting but if he is allowed to eat his normal kitten chow (he won't touch real ferret food!) he almost always vomits. If we have to be out of the house for 12 hrs and he eats more than once then he ALWAYS vomits. Any ideas? Linda K (frustrated Mommy to 14 fuzzies) 2. Distemper Vaccine Reaction From: KFor651676@aol.com Date sent: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 11:54:51 EST Lynn, Do you know of anyone who has had a ferret who has had a severe allergic (anaphylactic shock) reaction to a distemper shot. Our 3yr old Molly had one 8 days ago. She nearly died, it was horrible. She has had the shot before with no problems. It is 8 days later and she still won't eat on her own. We have tried everything. She just has no appitite. She is on amoxy and iron because she vomited and had blood in her stool. She is showing no signs of pain or ulcer. She did take carafate for 4 days and Tagament for 2. We were going to try Tagament again but she gags and almost vomits I have tried mixing it but it does not matter. We give amoxi and iron with the force feedings. You know alot of people and alot about ferrets so I thought you might have an idea what to do. Oh and she has been sneezing alot ever since the shot. Benadryl was no help? She took it for the first few days after the reaction. She is drinking and hydrated. We feel like we are torturing her to eat! As you know sick ferrets are so sad and we are at a loss for what to do. We have experience with sick ferts but nothing is working. She seems tired but stong. We don't want to lose her. How much should we be force feeding her? Per day? We have tried 10- 12cc every 4-5hrs sometimes just 6cc it depends. Thanks Kelly & Sean ( Phoebe, Molly, Sid and Ellie) 3. Update on the Late Solo From: "Julie Fossa" Date sent: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 19:10:00 -0800 (PST) I spoke With Dr. Williams this morning concerning Solo's post mortem tissue slides. Solo was our little 18 month old boy that, in just 24 days, went from bouncing and playful to Crossing the Bridge. While Canine Distemper and Lymphoma were initially ruled out as the cause of Solo's death in the earlier lab reports, they had not checked for ADV. Dr. Williams assures me, after looking at his tissue samples, Solo did not die from ADV. Solo did show signs of stomach ulcers, which he felt developed toward - maybe- the last week of his illness, and pneumonia was present in the lung tissues. He felt that at this point, it would be very difficult to identify what initially started his illness. He felt the ulcers may very well have been due to the fact that a sick ferret can beome very stressed. Dr. Williams felt, considering the depth of the ulceration in the stomach tissue along with the stage of the pneumonia in the lungs, septicemia was what was causing the fever. Since I don't have a lab report to reference, only our conversation this morning, I've tried to capture this as accurately as possible from memory. I felt it was very important to determine if Solo was ADV or not, due to the number of ferrets passing through the shelter. I did not want to inadvertantly spread the virus to other kids, and ultimately the ferrets in the homes they might be going to. Thank you to all from the FML and FAIML that sent suggestions for Solo's care, and everyone who sent Condolances. I've tried to respond to all personally, but I've had a couple bounce back, and I have been trying to keep up with some other things along with taking care of the Shelter Kids. My heart goes out to those who are currently caring for your sick babies, and my deepest sympathy for those whom have recently lost a fur child. Julie ===== Julie Fossa West Central Ohio Ferret Shelter 419/ 225-8383 "Just A Place To Hang Your Hammock While You're Looking for A Home!" 4. Update on Cedes From: "katharine" Date sent: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 17:18:42 -0500 I've posted a couple of times about Cedes, a little boy whose owner took him in to be euthanized after a tentative diagnosis of insulinoma. He had surgery on Monday and I was allowed to watch! It was so cool. It appears he does NOT have insulinoma; no tumors were evident. A small biopsy was taken from the pancreas and another from a lymph node that was swollen. The pathology report isn't back yet. Other than that, all looked just great. Oh, there was a rubber thing in his stomach and that was removed. I suspect this is what was causing the low blood sugar readings. He wasn't able to eat very much since this thing was taking up a large part of his tummy. I'm delighted he doesn't have insulinoma and am glad the surgery was done. Otherwise, we wouldn't have found the foreign object in him. It didn't show up on an x-ray. He was able to stop the prednisone. Right now, I'm just working on getting him back on his kibble (Friskies Ocean Flavor). His favorite meal is Hill's A/D and Gerbers chicken baby food and he has become quite spoiled in a short time . He has started eating the Friskies in the last couple of days. I went and bought a fresh bag thinking the food I got from his former owner might be stale. That seems to have helped. Once he's eating well, I'll work on changing him over to TF and Iams Kitten. Right now, I'm grateful he's eating anything. I had his teeth cleaned after his surgery and that was probably part of his eating problem also. His teeth were in terrible condition. The top two canines are still very brown. We may have to deal with them down the road. His chewing has improved considerably since the teeth cleaning. So, unless the pathology report turns up something terrible, he will live a long, healthy life. The previous owner had his about 3 years and said another owner had him 2 1/2-3 before that, so I'm guessing his age at about 5-6. He has had no vet care in the last three years and, of course, no vaccinations. His coat is beautiful, shiny, and soft. His nails had been cut. His ears were pretty dirty and I cleaned them, thinking they were never cleaned. Well, they're a mess again so I think he's going to be one of those fuzzies with dirty ears. I have a couple of them already. It doesn't matter how much I clean them, they are always dirty. My next step, after his stitches are removed, is to introduce him to the other 4. I dread it, knowing there will be major wars until they all settle down. They do visit him at his cage daily. Champ mutters the whole time he's around Cedes and takes great delight in reaching in and pulling all of his bedding completely out of the cage. Lany accidentally met him in the hall one day (before surgery) and tore his little behind up (and I got bit trying to separate them...two days after a bird bit me at the vets' office, same finger)!! It will be a nightmare for a while but I think they can learn to live together. They should be used to each others' smell by now. Cedes has always been an only ferret. Just thought you might want to hear some good news. Katharine 5. Heart Murmor From: EquineAmy@aol.com Date sent: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 10:51:17 EST Wendi, When Connor was first thought to have an adrenal tumor (his hair was falling out), on initial exam, he had a heart murmor and was anemic. He had an ultrasound the following week and his heart appeared fine, but it did confirm he had a right adrenal tumor. He started on lupron and a when the vet reexamined him before he got his second injection (he got 3 one month shots), he was no longer anemic and no longer had a heart murmor. I don't know if this is related to your ferrets problem or not, but I do know that Connor did have the same problem. Good luck, Amy, Winnie, Chloe and Connor 6. Heart Murmur From: "Eden Rain" Date sent: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 08:24:53 -0800 Wendi, Another possibility that the small cough combined with the heart murmur makes me think of is Cardiomyopathy. If there's fluid building up in his lungs from a heart problem it can manifest as coughing/wheezing. Hopefully it's neither this nor lymphoma, just some tummy upset & a cough, but it might be time for an ultrasound just to be sure. Good luck, Eden & Lemke (Cardio-boy) ______________________________________________ Eden Rain raghead@liripipe.com >Heart Murmur >From: WGHOL@aol.com >Date sent: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 14:12:01 EST >My Buster has developed a heart murmur and anemia and I was wondering if >anyone has seen this in their ferret as a symptom of Lymphoma? > >He has had soft, seedy stools for several months now, which can become quite >runny. He's been treated for bacterial infections and there is no sign of .coccidia. He eats well, and has put on weight (he's 2.6 lbs. now from just under >2 lbs) and seems fine otherwise. > >The heart murmur was not present last month, and he has also developed a >small cough...our next step is to check for lymphoma and I'd like to hear f>rom anyone who may have had similar symptoms in their ferts... > >Wendi 7. Brian and Kato From: "CHRIS IMBACH" Date sent: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 11:08:43 -0800 Brian, It's an incredibly painful experience to lose a cherished friend such as Kato. I, too, think you should complete the job of caring for your lost friend. I lost my beloved Chuckles in December and had him privately cremated. I commissioned a glass blower to put some of his ashes into a solid glass ball, which is really quite beautiful, and a jeweler to make me a special gold charm for my bracelet that also includes his ashes. We all deal with loss differently, and hopefully you will find peace and comfort with whatever you decide to do. Susan Dingle ----------------------- End of FAIML #393 ------------------------