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Post by whipple on May 16, 2011 8:57:35 GMT -5
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Post by miamiferret2 on May 16, 2011 9:06:54 GMT -5
once an animal has distemper they cannot be vaccinated. it will not undo, slow down/halt the course of the virus. to my understanding, the vaccine will actually just accelerate the deterioration.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2011 9:08:15 GMT -5
He should be checked out anyway. From my understanding in the WA shelter thread, you shouldn't vaccinate after exposure as this can cause the immune system to shut down.
Chances are good he is stressed from a bad home and a move in the middle of the night. Since you don't know his history it is so important to take him to the vet anyway. Good luck and keep us posted.
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Post by Sherry on May 16, 2011 9:44:05 GMT -5
What makes you think he has distemper? The symptoms you've mentioned match stress, or a respiratory infection more than distemper.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2011 9:57:27 GMT -5
I agree with Sherry here. these symptoms point to a number of things - stress being high on that list. why you would jump to such a poor diagnosis for such vague symptoms? Your being a good ferrent and visiting the vet, but you are prematurely freaking yourself out.
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Post by miamiferret2 on May 16, 2011 10:22:02 GMT -5
do you have Bach's Rescue Remedy? he's been through alot. he could probably use some. You should take him to the vet anyway but yeah most likely it is not distemper.
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Post by Heather on May 16, 2011 12:46:12 GMT -5
I wouldn't believe that by what you've described that those are symptoms of distemper. You cannot give a vaccine to anything that is already sick. That is a death sentence. Distemper isn't that common. Please keep us posted ciao
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2011 13:42:12 GMT -5
I had a distemper freak-out a week back when I thought one of my dogs might have it and could give it to the ferrets. Of course everything turned out fine but I talked to a couple of vets and got some more information on distemper.
Distemper is basically a death sentence for dogs and ferrets and if a ferret had it, you would know. It progresses extremely quickly and you won't get just nasal discharge. You'll see vomitting, diarrhea, zero appetite and because muscle spasms are neurological and the neurological symptoms come last (before coma and death), if the "hiccups" / muscle spasms are happening and it was distemper, the ferret would already be very far gone and on its death-bed basically from what I was told. ]
My dog vet has never even seen a case of distemper (that's how rare it is these days) and the vet technician who had described the dog as literally neurotic and trying to kill them. It had to be euthanized with a rabies pole.
So I'm pretty sure you're fine. If the ferret had been losing weight for a while, then its probably something else, distemper is very quick once it starts generally.
There's definitiely a lot of confusion about distemper out there and it's a scary thing to not know the facts about and think that your pets might have, maybe we could have a sticky in the health section with the signs and symptoms of distemper and more information about the disease and how it progresses and things like that?
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Post by fearless on May 16, 2011 14:16:01 GMT -5
Ohh good suggestion! Maybe a general symptoms thread.
Stress - symptom, symptom, symptom Distemper - symptom, symptom, symptom.
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Post by joclyn on May 16, 2011 17:28:59 GMT -5
distemper in ferrets causes discharge from eyes/nose that turns crusty and they also develop crusty stuff on their paw pads.
it's more likely this is an upper respitory issue as a result of stress or being infected by someone who has a sinus infection of the flu.
there's the off chance it could be adv. i'd actually be more concerned about that than distemper (because that generally IS pretty rare since it's such a standard thing to get dogs vax for that).
has there been clear-cut exposure to distemper? if so, then it could be - earliest symptoms would match what you're describing. if there's no confirmed exposure, then, i'd bet it's just a uri.
def get to the vet for an exam tho!
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2011 18:35:29 GMT -5
Ohh good suggestion! Maybe a general symptoms thread. Stress - symptom, symptom, symptom Distemper - symptom, symptom, symptom. That would be even better!
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Post by whipple on May 17, 2011 0:10:46 GMT -5
I feel much better! Thank you! I am going to let him settle in first. I'm not big on drs, for myself or my pets. So I'm not going to rush off. I'm keeping an eye on everyone. Thanks for all the advice
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Post by Sherry on May 17, 2011 23:33:40 GMT -5
And just to let everyone know- I'm very hesitant to do a "disease-symptom" chart. For the simply reason symptoms for many illnesses in ferrets are sometimes so vague, and I really wouldn't want someone reading some symptoms and deciding, oh, it's not serious, when they should be rushing in asap. At least by posting in an active thread like this, we can get some opinions going, even if it's just "get there- NOW".
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Post by Heather on May 17, 2011 23:45:16 GMT -5
I agree with Sherry. Ferrets have so many vague symptoms, so many cross over diseases that a mistake could cost your little one's life. All you have to do is type in symptoms, distemper in a search engine. Get Ferrets for dummies. It's all there. My vet has a search engine that helps her isolate and do a statistical analysis on the probability of a series of symptoms being a certain issue. We coudn't even begin to play that game. We are not a vetting service, we can offer suggestions but we cannot offer advice. ciao
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