Lethargic female ferret (staff pet )

RE: Lethargic female ferret (staff pet )

Marie Kubiak — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 21:14:28 GMT

I wouldn't assume adrenal disease automatically in an outdoor ferret with none of the typical signs. If jumping to assume common issues then lymphoma is always a good shout!

If pale a PCV (and agglutination assessment if you can) is a cheap and useful test as suggested earlier. I have seen IMHA cases present this way and they usually have terrifyingly low PCV. Oestrous remnant with thrombocytopaenia and secondary haemorrhage is possible but a swollen vulva and skin haemorrhages are generally visible.

Radiolucent FB? Ferrets will target rubber for some reason- you can usually palpate these but if it eaten something softer it may not be obvious.

Can you post rads?

Marie

RE: Lethargic female ferret (staff pet )

David Mills — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 20:45:43 GMT

Cushings until proved otherwise.

RE: Lethargic female ferret (staff pet )

Linda Filshie — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 01:46:30 GMT

Haematology done? If not it's worth at least a pcv and smear - cheap as chips and if you've got a stinking inflammatory picture or anaemia it would be helpful to know. Not sure if ferrets have got weird and wonderful morphological things that are normal for them though!

If no further forward then back to basics: sort out a problem list, determine which body system(s) is/are affected, then do your damnitv/vitamin d for each and follow either Occam's razor approach and try to find one disease process to tie it all together or consider a multifactorial problem.

Eg pallor: poor perfusion or lack of red cells. Systems possibily affected are CVS and haematological. Then what under the following categories could be at play: (V)ascular, (I)nflammatory/infectious/idiopathic/iatrogenic, (T)oxin/trauma, (A)nomalous (i think!), (M)etabolic, (I again to make the mnemonic work), (N)eoplastic, (D)egenerative

Apologies if teaching you to suck eggs. Not 100% sure I've got all the options for all the letters either.