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Post by Niko and Noah on Jun 27, 2015 20:57:23 GMT -5
Hello!
About 2 weeks ago my 3 year old ferret Niko began acting very tired and less playful and about a week ago he began eating less, and he stopped using his litter box (he is completely potty trained and never has accidents). We took him to the vet and they did a blood test (his blood tests came out good). At first the vet thought he had bladder stones, but she could not see any in the x-ray. Then she did an ultrasound and found that he had very swollen lymph nodes so they did a lymph node aspiration (I'm not sure how to write that). They found no cancer markers, so they gave him antibiotics to see if the inflammation would go down, but if not they say they are going to have to do a biopsy. Does anyone have any idea of what Niko may have? Is there still a chance that he could have lymphoma?
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Post by unclejoe on Jun 27, 2015 21:47:06 GMT -5
It's possible. I would think that the markers would show, if the aspirate was taken from one of the swollen nodes. I hope the antibiotics are all he needs.
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Post by Sherry on Jun 28, 2015 1:50:24 GMT -5
With a ferret anything is possible. Here's hoping it is a slow brewing infection somewhere. How is his spleen? Enlarged at all?
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Post by NikoandNoah on Jun 28, 2015 12:24:19 GMT -5
thanks for your answers!
no his spleen is fine, he only has a lot of inflamed lymph nodes. do you know what can be causing this?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2015 12:56:18 GMT -5
I'm sorry your little Niko is not feeling well. Let's hope it's a simple fix and a course of antibiotics will clear it up. Is your vet a ferret vet, i.e. exotic animal specialist? Many vets will see mainly cats and dogs in their practice and the occasional ferret. It can really make a big difference to have a ferret vet. You want a vet who is familiar with ferret illnesses from the big three, Lymphoma, Insulinoma and Adrenal to issues like Irritable bowel disease and a Blockage from eating something that is rubbery and foamy. They need to know about DES implants and have seen enlarged spleens, which may be common or enlarged spleens that indicate a possible illness. We have two ferret vet lists. One by Country and State and then one that members add to, as they find a good vet, that understands ferrrets. I'll link both of them: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/6/list-vetholisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/13638/vet-country-stateThe more you research, the better off that Niko will be. We have alot of very experienced ferrents here and someone may have some more answers. Here is a good article talking about lymph nodes. Niko's could be infection or Lymphoma, based on the info here: www.petmd.com/ferret/conditions/endocrine/c_ft_lymphadenopathyAnd here is another one, that discusses the possibility of Lymphoma: www.2ndchance.info/lymphomaferret.htmThe more that you learn, the more you help Niko. Asking the right questions and being prepared will help him. You are his best health advocate. Please keep us posted. I'll keep an eye out on this thread and keep it close to the top. All my best wishes to you and your Niko.  |
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Post by Sherry on Jun 28, 2015 13:10:15 GMT -5
The reason I asked about the spleen is that it also usually enlarges with an internal infection, but not always. Short term prednisolone might also help a great deal. It reduces inflammation in the body as well.
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