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Post by Jaycee on May 15, 2009 21:14:51 GMT -5
Ok, so as some of you may know I am the proud owner of 12 fuzzies. One of them, Rayne, is sick, and I can't figure out what is wrong with her.
She is my youngest....maybe 10 months old. Lately she has been coughing and wheezing. Sounds horrible. It was so bad the other day I thought for sure she had a hairball or an obstruction of some sort. So, my husband ran her up to a ferret vet (the same one who saved Piper a year ago for a bowel obstruction). She ran tests. Temp is fine. Did scans looking for blockages....nothing came up. She is still hacking and wheezing often. I give her ferret lax once a day, and make sure she is eating and drinking (and pooing), but the cough persists. What could it possibly be, and what should we do? Any help would be appreciated!
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Post by Heather on May 15, 2009 23:14:30 GMT -5
Did you have them xray for pneumonia? According to several people you can't necessarily hear the congested lungs and they often determine by xray. I'm not saying that's what it is but I've had a couple of ferrets come down with some serious upper respiratory infections recently. Captain Jack required some serious antibiotics and had lost a lot of weight. He's doing much better now, frustratingly so.....I just had to remove him from on top of my art table , he's getting into everything tonight ciao
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Post by Jaycee on May 16, 2009 8:25:59 GMT -5
No, according to my husband, they didn't check for pneumonia. They did check her temp though, and that was normal. Wouldn't the tempurature rise if there is an infection? I don't know. Like I said, I am at a loss. I did wonder if it was an URI. If she doesn't get better, I am going to have to convince my husband to take her back to the vet for another check up. When she was there the other day, they had to give her fluids. Said she was dehydrated, but Raine is always drinking water when I see her. I just don't know what to do.
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Post by sherrylynne on May 16, 2009 10:03:14 GMT -5
Is she, or some of the others, shedding right now? I've found with Lucrezia, she has a lot of trouble with hair caught in her throat, and starts coughing and wheezing up a storm. She gets pumpkin daily during this, and I syringe a bit of water sideways in her mouth when she's doing this. Once the bedding is changed/vacuumed, it eases off. She's been checked for infections, etc., but she's fine. I'd follow what Heather said, and if nothing shows up, it's most likely hair/fur stuck.
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Post by Jaycee on May 16, 2009 10:12:43 GMT -5
That is a good point. My first thought was hair....I guess that wouldn't show up in any scans. I will clean up the ferret room, cage and bedding today to see if this is the problem. I have been giving her the lax daily, but it doesn't seem to be helping. I also give her water by syringe, but it almost seems to make things worse. She begins hacking and coughing with greater force after that.
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Post by sherrylynne on May 16, 2009 14:37:36 GMT -5
When I give any of them water by syringe, I have to shoot it crosswise in their mouths, and just a few drops at a time, so they don't aspirate it, but then with as many as you have, I'm sure you're familiar with syringe feeding . I hope fur is all it is!
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Post by Jaycee on May 16, 2009 14:54:31 GMT -5
Yes, I have quite a bit of experience with the syringe feedings! I have washed everything, and am drying it all now. She seems to be playful still, and manages to find trouble, so I am hoping she will be ok.
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Post by sherrylynne on May 18, 2009 0:24:43 GMT -5
Good luck, and I hope that's all it is!
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Post by mustelidmusk on May 23, 2009 0:42:34 GMT -5
DOes the coughing get worse with exertion/exercie? If so, it could indicate congestion or pressure in the chest cavity affectingt eh heart an/or lungs.
I would recommend an x-ray to rule out pnuemonia or a posible mass. Please keep us posted. -jennifer
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Post by Jaycee on May 24, 2009 12:45:11 GMT -5
No, not necessarily coughing due to activity. A lot of the times we catch her doing this, it is in the middle of the night when she is in her ferret nation. Sometimes she does it while eating too. I am not sure what is going on with her, but she isn't losing weight and still has a bright look in her eyes.
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Post by Alliemegan on May 24, 2009 22:02:22 GMT -5
I agree with Jennifer that you might want to consider having your fuzzy x-ray to rule out pneumonia or a mass. About 2 weeks ago, my little guy Gadget started dry coughing and having skinnier poops, we thought it was a hairball. We gave him laxatives for a few days but eventually we decided to x-ray him, just for peace of mind. Turns out there's no GI blockage but we found out that he has a mass in his chest. Except for a few coughs here and there, Gadget is the picture health. He's running around, playing and making trouble, wolfing down his dinner like any old day. There doesn't seem to be any exercise intolerance.... We wouldn't have known about the mass if it wasn't for the x-ray. We're still running tests to figure out what exactly it is (infection or lymphoma) and hopefully we'd caught it early enough that there might be something we can do.
I hope there's nothing terribly wrong with you little girl. But you might wantto consider the x-ray if the cough is not going away. Good luck
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Post by Forum Administrator on May 25, 2009 15:41:36 GMT -5
Coughing can also be a sign of heartworm disease in ferrets. Although rare its not uncommon, especially in the southeast.
I would recommend that the vet runs an x-ray as suggested. You said they ran scans, does this mean an x-ray?
Coughing can be a sign of so much: pneumonia, a mass, heart disease, heartworm, a cold. If it doesn't go away I'd recommend further diagnostics. I would think x-rays would be vital (if not done already), and bloodwork might be helpful too.
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Post by Jaycee on May 25, 2009 17:34:51 GMT -5
My husband states the vet did do x-rays. The only thing they could come up with is a cloudy area in the intestine, but the vet didn't know what that could be.
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