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Post by Heather on Apr 24, 2011 17:44:14 GMT -5
I"m glad to hear that your little ones appear to be on the mend. I'm sorry that your little girl is still having difficulties. Do you believe that her symptoms are now what one would probably consider "chronic" and are unfortunately her own?
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2011 18:02:37 GMT -5
Do you believe that her symptoms are now what one would probably consider "chronic" and are unfortunately her own? ciao Yes  The virus is now probably long gone or completely inactive, and this is the sad result from the damage it caused. It's most likely permanent and I have very little hope that it'll ever get better than this for her. |
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Post by Heather on Apr 24, 2011 18:15:35 GMT -5
Poor wee thing. Those are her little girls though are they not (the kits)? A wonderful legacy, albeit a heartbreaking one  . ciao |
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Post by katt on Apr 24, 2011 18:37:56 GMT -5
I have to get back to studying but I am reading along.  Marie - do you have some links perhaps to information on ECE? Also, what is the usual treatment for it? |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2011 19:47:56 GMT -5
How are his gums? The reason I dont really like the scruff test is because some animals scruff will seem like it stays scruffed because of the way the fur falls I guess? Its weird to explain.. to put it simply, the scruff test is probably the least accurate dehydration test on anything furry.
I seriously just lol'd at myself, I read about the blood work in ur original post and some how it didnt register, lol, sorry. I don't know exactally what goes into blood panels in ferrets, or what you mean by a blood test full panel... a glucose is one test and the other two you mentioned in your original post are three seperate panels that wouldnt test his electrolytes at all- thats assuming they get the same tests per panel that go into our blood panels. A glucose of course will test a glucose, depending on the type of test ordered will depend on the type of results- say he had a BMP, it would do a light look into his glucose among other things, if something was abnormal hed go back for a glucose (probably fasting, if at all possible) and then the doc would put him on meds if hes still abnormal using the A1C to check up every (in humans) 3 months plus having you keep track of glucose levels at home with a moniter- since you said theyre fine than I wouldnt worry about that, you can check it off the list. The liver test is usually refered to as a hepatic function panel which usually (im a phlebotomist, human panels might include different tests) in includes the ALT, ALP, AST, Bilirubin, Albumin, Total protein, GGT and LDH. Kidney tests usually include GFR (sometimes seen as eGFR) Creatinine, and BUN. In order to have had his electrolyes tested it would have had to been a BMP(Basic Metabolic Panel) which includes an electrolyte test or flat out electrolyte panel consisting of Na (Sodium) K (Potassium) C1 (Chloride) CA (Calcium) and PHOS (Phosphorus). If he had a BMP done they wouldnt have tested the kidney or glucose seperately unless hes had abnormal results in the past, if he has had abnormal results in the past they would probably skip the BMP and test everything individually for more accurate results. If you know his electrolytes have been tested in a BMP panel and they are fine but your still worried I would ask the doctor to have the actual Electrolyte Panel done on him. Sorry if I seem like im breaking it down too much but I want to make sure you know that if they did the specific glucose test and the kidney and liver panels- they probably didnt have a look at his electorlytes at all and you may want to call your vet and ask. If you have the results you wanna look for BMP or Na (Sodium) K (Potassium) C1 (Chloride) CA (Calcium) and PHOS (Phosphorus). Remember, not all labs consider the same things abnormal blood tests are figured by ranges, a number that is considered normal range to the lab I work for could be in the abnormal range if you went to another lab, they are usually pretty close but if he has a result that is related to his glucose or electolytes that is close to one extreme or the other I would have them do the specific electrolyte panel or the blood glucose test that ISNT in a panel. Im not great at explaining sooo lets see if I can do it better with example- say for example the normal range for a blood glucose is 5.5- 6.5, if he is right at the 5.5 or the 6.5 I would take him to another vet to test it again or have them do a more specific test, just to be sure. A lot of times in humans (especially thyroid) tests will come back 'normal' but the patient will be experiening moderate to severe symptoms, when the more indepth tests are done, we can see that even though the initial test came back fine this one little break down bit is actually screwed up- so although the electrolyte area of the BMP may say normal, if you have the electrolyte panel done, maybe his potassium (or other various break down part of his electorlytes) will come back abnormal, thusly giving you an answer. This could be something thats never been picked up on through his life if a specific electrolye panel has never been tested. Does that make scence?
Since you keep the heat up, that may well be the reason. What may be tolerable for Kenai (or the average fert) may just be too warm for his body.
If I were you, I would really make sure the specific tests within the Electrolyte panel have all been tested, I would also turn the heat down, since he has IBD and is more suceptable to diarrhea, even though he is having a few good poop days- his body may not be having the chance to check up and the higher heat may be part of that.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2011 7:25:44 GMT -5
Marie - do you have some links perhaps to information on ECE? Also, what is the usual treatment for it? Treatment is basically just symptomatic. There's quite a bit of info on ECE online (or FECV = ferret enteric coronavirus), but some of it is somewhat outdated by now. You can find some info on www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/Also, I think this is a good summary by Dr Neil Forbes: (scroll down to ECE) rcva.wetpaint.com/page/2nd+June+2010But I presume Koda's problem hasn't been ECE? |
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