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Post by miamiferret2 on May 25, 2012 8:17:55 GMT -5
They are prone to intestinal lymphomas and often the only way to definitively diagnose that is through biopsy. And i do not recommend that. enlarged spleen can get so large that it pushes up into the chest cavity. Basically, no room for lungs to expand properly and the animal has trouble breathing, is easily tired, etc. This puts a strain on the heart by the way. He is adrenal? did you check him for that? Sometimes the enlarged spleen and intestinal issues get better (spleen size even reduces) after starting adrenal treatment. Sounds to me you may be dealing with more than one issue here.but, if you say he is a 3 year old MF, if i were in vegas i would bet that adrenal is part of the equation. It usually is with MFs. It is a chronic problem with them.
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Post by miamiferret2 on May 25, 2012 8:22:36 GMT -5
Swollen lymph nodes and large spleen could also be froma chronic smoldering infection. Has he had antibiotics?
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Post by Sherry on May 25, 2012 8:44:29 GMT -5
This has been happening since he was a year old, but I suppose adrenal is a possibility. A three month trial of lupron would confirm or rule it out.
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Post by miamiferret2 on May 25, 2012 10:35:08 GMT -5
oh poor little guy. I did not know that this has been going on since he was very young.
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Post by acodlin on May 25, 2012 11:19:46 GMT -5
I can email you the PDF file that is from a vet book that talks about FIP in more detail. If you want it just PM me your email.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2012 11:37:16 GMT -5
Thank you all! I am going to look further into these possibilities, and I'm going to email the links to all things FIP to my vet to see what his thoughts are on it. If you think of anything else please feel free to keep posting, I read Bandit's threads everyday.
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Post by acodlin on May 25, 2012 13:46:49 GMT -5
Clinical signs for all to see -
FRSCV-associated disease causing FIP-like lesions has been reported in mostly young ferrets, with most younger than 18 months.7 Clinical signs in ferrets are nonspecific, similar to those described in cats with the granulomatous or dry form of FIP.6,12,13 Common clinical signs include diarrhea, weight loss, lethargy, hyporexia or anorexia, and vomiting. These gastrointestinal signs may lead to loss of body condition and moderate to severe emaciation. Signs of central nervous system disease include hind limb paresis or paraparesis, ataxia, tremors, and seizures. Animals may present with primary neurologic disease, including head tilt and seizure activity. Less common clinical signs include sneezing, coughing, labored breathing, nasal discharge, dehydration, bruxism, systolic heart murmur, jaundice, focal areas of erythema of the skin, green colored urine, reddened rectal mucosa, and rectal prolapse.7,14 Ocular signs have not yet been reported. On abdominal palpation, large abdominal masses, splenomegaly, and renomegaly are common findings. Peripheral lymphadenopathy has been reported in a few cases, and some ferrets also had fevers ranging from 103F to 105.4F.7,14
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