Ferret Medical Emergencies and Treatment
Disclaimer
Vomitting
Weak, ataxic, disoriented, nonresponsive...
Straining to urinate
Respiratory distress
Coughing
Prolapsed rectum
Reproduction emergencies
Unspayed
female in heat
Dystocia
Vaginal
Discharge
Pregnancy
Toxemia
Mastitis
Blood Transfusions in Ferrets
Disclaimer:
The following material is intended as a quick reference diagnostic
aid for veterinarians treating ferrets in emergency situations only.
All medical treatment given to any ferret MUST be at the hands of
a properly trained individual and MUST take into account the condition
and situation of the ferret in question.
FIRST does not dispense advice on the veterinary medical care of
individual animals and takes no responsibility for any mistakes,
misapplication, or misinterpretation of the information contained
in this area.
ALWAYS take your ferret to a qualified vet immediately when you
notice a problem. Use the following only for informational purposes.
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Vomitting: can be caused by a number
of reasons
1. Young ferret, less than 3 years, could be a foreign body. Ferrets
will happily chew on and swallow rubber toys, foam, elastic bands,
sneakers, etc.
2. Older ferrets can get hairballs and cause and obstruction. Be
very careful when you tell the owners to NPO, as the ferret may
have an undiagnosed insulinoma. By just pulling food for a few hours,
the ferret may end up seizuring. Suggest that the food is pulled
for 1-2 hours, but warn the owner to watch for the signs of an insulinoma
(see below) and what to do if signs occur.
3. Gastric ulcers can cause vomiting. There usually isn't blood
in the vomit, but other signs may show such as decreased appetite,
loose stools (may or may not be black and tarry), and teeth grinding.
This, too, CAN BE AN EMERGENCY as an ulcer can erode a big vessel
and the ferret may bleed to death. ANY stress at all to a ferret
will cause an ulcer.
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Weak, ataxic, disoriented, drooling,
pawing at the mouth, paralysis of the hind limbs, nonresponsive,
comatose, seizuring - usually an insulinoma.
If the ferret is weak, ataxic, dazed or disoriented, try to get
the ferret in to allow a blood glucose to be taken to confirm a
diagnosis of insulinoma. If the owners are not prepared to come
in, or there are financial constraints, the ferret can be given
orally a substance high in sugar, i.e., Karo syrup, honey, sugar
dissolved in water. The owner should give the sugar substance every
five minutes until the ferret can stand. Warn owner that it may
take up to 30 minutes for the ferret to respond. Stress to the owner
that they need to see a vet the next day. If not conscious or seizuring,
the ferret must be seen, but before they leave the house, they must
rub the sugar solution on the gums. Tell the owner to continue treating
the ferret in the car on the way to the clinic.
Treatment:
a) Medical management - start prednisone liquid 0.25 - 2 mg./kg
BID.
b) Surgical - can do surgery first or after months of medical management.
Prognosis - inform owners that it is terminal and with surgery
the average life expectancy is 462 days; with medical management,
the average is 219 days.
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Straining to Urinate -
usually male ferrets, occasionally female ferrets
1. Stones - male and female can block with mucous, grit, or stones.
Usually, these are struvite stones secondary to either an inappropriate
diet or an ascending infection (females only - usually Staph or
Proteus - Trimethoprim sulfa is drug of choice. OK to give if pregnant).
Treatment - never back flush as this will cause bladder stones,
even if it is just a mucous plug. Always take to surgery. Very
difficult to pass a catheter in the male as they have a curl of
their penis; must pass catheter retrograde from bladder out to
the penis.
2. Adrenal tumors - male ferrets will get prostatic hypertrophy
secondary to adrenal disease. This swelling will cause an obstruction
of the urethra. The ferret may also show other signs of adrenal
disease - bilateral symmetrical alopecia (hair loss on just the
tail is seasonal alpocecia and is a benign problem), return of male
sexual behavior, pruritus, and muscle atrophy.
Treatment - the ferret must be taken to surgery immediately.
Cystocentesis of the bladder may cause it to rupture. Open the
bladder and pass the catheter retrograde, then take out the adrenal
gland that is affected. If bilateral involvement, try to leave
a small part of one of the glands. Biopsy both glands as they
can have different diseases. Sometimes the right adrenal gland
will invade the caudal vena cava. If necessary, the caudal vena
cava can be ligated. This must be done slowly. The urinary catheter
that was placed intra op can be removed in 2 - 3 days. Prednisone
is rarely necessary, but treating for a gastric ulcer imperative.
Be sure to look for concurrent diseases such as an insulinoma
(occurs in 25% of the ferrets with adrenal tumors), cardiomyopathy,
and splenomegaly. If the spleen is >15% of the ferrets body
weight or if it doesn't shrink when it is taken out of the abdomen,
remove the spleen as well. With surgery, adrenal disease has a
fair prognosis. If neoplastic, it is locally invasive but it rarely
metastasizes. However, the remaining gland or glandular tissue
can become a problem a few years in the future.
Be careful with anesthesia as some adrenal tumors produce catecholamines
and the ferret can die on the table. If the HR doesn't go down
to 180 - 220 bpm, RR is elevated, or if the blood pressure increases,
there is a good chance that the ferret will die on the table.
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Respiratory Distress -
needs to be seen immediately!
1. Heart disease - the ferret usually is in severe respiratory
distress. Give lasix and oxygen. DO NOT STRESS because it can kill
the ferret. Don't tap the chest unless stable or only if it can
be done without stressing the ferret.
2. Lymphoma - seen in young ferrets, too.
3. Trauma - common causes include being stepped on or dropped.
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Coughing - can be the result of many
diseases
1. Influenza - human influenza virus is contagious to ferrets.
Not usually an emergency unless it is a young ferret (under 7 months
they can get a secondary bacterial pneumonia) or if it appears to
be in distress. If you have the 'flu, be very careful when handling
ferrets. Most ferrets that present at a clinic will be sick and
don't need the 'flu on top of what they already have.
2. Heart disease, bacterial pneumonia, trauma - can all cause coughing,
but usually coughing isn't the only clinical sign.
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Prolapsed Rectum - usually
secondary to diarrhea
Should be seen immediately before tissue becomes devitalized. If
ferret can't be brought in, must keep area moist with KY jelly.
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Reproduction Emergencies
Unspayed Female in Heat - if a female is heat for >3
weeks, she can develop estrogen toxicity. This results in bone marrow
aplasia causing thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and a nonregenerative
anemia. The owner will know the ferret is in heat as the vulva is
very enlarged. They may also notice petechia of the skin.
Treatment - spay AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. if the PCV is <25%,
transfuse before surgery. If the PCV is <15%, prognosis is
grave: Don't spay as the ferret usually dies. If the ferret isn't
stable, one can try HCG, of GnRH, but these will take a few weeks
respond and the ferret needs to be supported until it can be spayed.
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Dystocia - If it has been 6-7 hours
since the last kit, or if the female is in distress, it is then
considered a dystocia. An average parturition takes about 2-3 hours,
with an average of 5 kits born per hour. DO NOT GIVE OXYTOCIN -
do a caesarian section.
False pregnancies are common. Kits can usually be palpated in
utero.
Gestation is 41-42 days. Kits that are in utero past 43 days
will die. This can happen with small litters (1-2 kits).
Kits can have open skulls which can be the cause of the dystocia,
so examine the kits carefully.
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Vaginal Discharge - pyometras
are rare. Females can get stump pyometras secondary to an adrenal
tumor.
Vaginitis is quite commonly seen in intact females. It can also
be seen in spayed females secondary to adrenal gland disease.
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Pregnancy Toxemia - occurs
usually in the last 10 days of gestation (gestation 41-42 days)
when the female is carrying >10 kits or if they are fed a poor
quality feed (protein <35%, fat <15%).
Clinical signs - lethargy, black tarry stools, dehydration, alopecia
(caused by dehydration), thinness, lying flat on abdomen with
open, glazed eyes.
Physical signs - can sometimes see outline of the uterus and
the kits; hypothermic; blood glucose <50 mg/dl early, then
will become high later on in the course of disease; ketonuric;
and azotemic. Mortality is high even with treatment. One can try
to treat medically until jill gets close to her due date - fluids
and force feeding A/D and Nutri-Cal - but one may lose the jill.
Treatment of choice is an immediate caesarian under gas anesthesia;
fluids with dextrose before, during, and after surgery. During
surgery, watch body temperature closely as it is easy to overheat
a ferret. Intensive care post op is essential - assess hydration,
blood glucose, and body temperature. Jills that aren't too azotemic
and whose liver is not clay-coloured (indicative of hepatic lipidosis),
may survive but they usually don't lactate, so the kits must be
fostered. If the jill lives the through the first 24 hours, she
usually survives.
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Mastitis - Normal glands feel like
marbles. Mastitis is an emergency as glands become gangrenous quickly
and the jill can die within 4-5 hours. Isolate from other females
as it is highly contagious. Antibiotics (Clavamox, Trimethoprim
sulfa, Chloramphenicol), fluids, and anti-inflammatories (Banamine
0.1 cc bid for 3 days).
Kits can go downhill within 6 hours. They must eat within 3-4
hours after birth. If kits are crawling and crying, check female
for disease. Hungry kits are active and cry; normal kits sleep
and nurse.
If a new mother eats a baby, don't take the litter away. If she
eats more that two kits, then take the litter away.
Handraising kits is very difficult. If possible, try to foster
kits onto another jill. Most jills accept kits of any size or
age during any stage of lactation. Supplement neonatal kits with
puppy or kitten milk replacements and added cream so that the
fat content is 20% (i.e., 3 parts milk replacement to 1 part whipping
cream). Feed warm milk QID at least, as much as they will drink.
Once the kits have reached 3 weeks of age, they no longer need
the jill's milk. Feed just replacement and cream mixture TID and
supplement with solid food. Still feed the kits milk through a
dropper until they are 4.5 to 5 weeks old. At 5 weeks of age,
the kits can go on solid food.
Kits are unable to maintain body temperature for the first two
weeks of life.
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Blood Transfusions in Ferrets
Reasons for Transfusions - anemia from chronic disease, estrogen
toxicity, or blood loss either from trauma or a gastric ulcer that
has eroded a big vessel in the GI tract.
When to transfuse - PCV <15% for acute blood loss, chronic anemia
with a PCV <12%, or for estrogen induced anemia with a PCV <25%
pre-op.
Transfusion reactions - low risk. No need to crossmatch as there
are no detectable blood groups.
Donors - large males.
Blood collection - Anesthetize the donor. Don't give anything but
atropine injectably; mask down with isoflurane. You can safely collect
about 10 cc blood from the average male's jugular or cranial vena
cava. Collect blood into a syringe with anticoagulant, CPDA-1, 1
cc to 6 ml of blood. Administer immediately 13-22ml/kg at a rate
of 0.25-0.5 ml/minute.
Fluid therapy - maintenance 75-100 ml/kg/day must correct for ongoing
losses and dehydration. Add dextrose (2.5% or 5%), B vitamins, potassium
as you would for a dog or cat.
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