A few months ago one of the ferrets that I rescued from a family (who didnt abuse her, but definitely neglected her) member had an attack.
Ferrets normally suffer from "dead sleep", which at the time I thought was the case. But since hind sight is 20/20 I know better now. she apparently had some kind of heart attack, because her tongue was hanging out and she was gurgling. I knew something was wrong, but I just didnt have enough experience with ferrets to figure it out.
Just recently she had a sore appear on her back leg. I took my time cleaning it to reveal and open and draining wound the size of a pea. Like a good lover of ferrets, I tried to do my part for a day or two, hoping it was merely a clogged pour, or a spider bite. It started to get bigger. I took her to the vet and had tests runs on her. she has been on anti-biotics for the last 2 weeks. In that time the wound has grown to the size of a quarter and I can clearly see where the muscle is exposed and ate up. not to mention a new welt has appeared just above it. turns out the tests say she has an enlarged heart and she more than likely has lymphoma or some similar form of cancer.
We just called the vet and have set up an appointment to put her down about 18 hours from now.
I am very upset about this, but the women in my family are crying big drops of tears. She was their favorite because of many reasons, including that she was the alpha female of the group. Ferrets are typically female dominated.
These ferrets are a major source of happiness to our family. We are losing not only a beloved family member, but one of the best mousers I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Ferrets normally suffer from "dead sleep", which at the time I thought was the case. But since hind sight is 20/20 I know better now. she apparently had some kind of heart attack, because her tongue was hanging out and she was gurgling. I knew something was wrong, but I just didnt have enough experience with ferrets to figure it out.
Just recently she had a sore appear on her back leg. I took my time cleaning it to reveal and open and draining wound the size of a pea. Like a good lover of ferrets, I tried to do my part for a day or two, hoping it was merely a clogged pour, or a spider bite. It started to get bigger. I took her to the vet and had tests runs on her. she has been on anti-biotics for the last 2 weeks. In that time the wound has grown to the size of a quarter and I can clearly see where the muscle is exposed and ate up. not to mention a new welt has appeared just above it. turns out the tests say she has an enlarged heart and she more than likely has lymphoma or some similar form of cancer.
We just called the vet and have set up an appointment to put her down about 18 hours from now.
I am very upset about this, but the women in my family are crying big drops of tears. She was their favorite because of many reasons, including that she was the alpha female of the group. Ferrets are typically female dominated.
These ferrets are a major source of happiness to our family. We are losing not only a beloved family member, but one of the best mousers I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
