No, there still isn't a "cure" or a vaccine for this scourge on our pets, but at least we are making progress treating the symptoms of this disease and pulling more animals through it without all the debilitating side effects that many ferrets previously experienced.
Many of you are aware that the ECE (green slime) virus attacks the stomach and intestinal linings of the ferret and inhibits absorption of fluids and nutrients. We had previously been counteracting this by providing the sick animals with a very high calorie, easily digestible diet of Hill's Prescription Diet a/d canned food mixed with Deliver 2.0, a concentrated form of Isocal™ (a human nutritional supplement) at a rate of 1 can a/d to 2 oz. Deliver 2.0 fed in 1 oz. portions 3-4 times a day. We were also giving the ferrets Pepto Bismol® or Kaopectate® at the rate of 1 cc given 2-3 times a day.
The ferrets hated the Pepto Bismol® and Kaopectate® and we would often find ourselves wearing the medicines rather than the ferrets taking them. We also found that these medications did not seem to prevent the nasty mouth and stomach ulcers from forming in many of the ferrets. I was also worried that the coating action of these products would further reduce the absorption of nutrients by the ferrets' intestinal tract.
I had heard of Pepcid A/C® being used safely on ferrets with gastric ulcers, so I decided to try it on the ferrets with ECE. Eureka! It worked! Ferrets that were already severely debilitated from the virus still took a long time to recover, but most of the new cases (95% or better) that came in responded right away to treatment. We have not had a single mouth ulcer since starting this treatment, and from the faster recovery rate of the animals, I would venture to guess that we have reduced or eliminated the stomach ulcers in most cases, also. Another plus is that ferrets rarely object to the taste and such a small dose is given that they generally swallow it so fast that they don't taste it at all!
The recommended dose to use for ferrets with
gastric ulcers is .25 cc Pepcid suspension per kg (about 2 lb.)
of ferret; given 2-3 times daily. We have found that giving .10 cc
per kg 1-2 times daily as soon as symptoms of the virus start and continuing
for about 21 days (depending on the initial condition of the ferret)
has apparently been adequate to prevent the ECE related ulcers from forming
in most ferrets. (Editor’s Note: The Pepcid A/C®
suspension is made by crushing a 10 mg. tablet of Pepcid A/C® and adding
10 cc of water to it. This suspension settles quickly and must be
shaken well between each dose administered. Veterinarians may check
with their local pharmacy to see if there is another medium that will suspend
the ground Pepcid particles more favorably).
Dr. Susan Brown of the Midwest Bird Animal
Hospital has also been trying Imodium® (liquid) on some of the ferrets
in her practice. It is given at a rate of .10 cc per ferret 2-3 times
a day for 1-4 days. Ferrets that are under additional stress due
to health problems (i.e., cancer, heart disease, etc.) or previously
incurred anorexia (if the ferrets was a stray or was nutritionally abused
by a former owner) we recommend giving a higher dose of .20 cc 2 - 3 times
per day. (Usually given for two days, then skip a day, and then given
1-2 more days). This treatment is still in a trial stage and
she recommends it only for chronic or severe cases of diarrhea until more
is known about long term effects of this product on ferrets. (We have
tried it on a few ferrets in our shelter that were responding slowly to
other treatments and it seemed to work).
We have also found that administering prednisone
has helped in some of the ferrets with ECE. A dose of .25 mg - .50
mg per ferret once a day for 7 - 14 days and then every other day for 3
more doses, helps as an anti-inflammatory agent and increased the appetite
of severely affected animals. (Editor’s Note: Prednisone AKA
prednisolone is a prescription drug and must be obtained from a veterinarian.)
We advise that your ferret have a blood glucose test prior to starting
it on prednisone since the use of prednisone can be detrimental to ferrets
with hyperglycemia (diabetes).
While using the Pepcid A/C® we still feed the sick ferrets the a/d and Deliver® 2.0 mixture, but for most ferrets we can cut back to only one 1 oz feeding a day. We have also been adding a pinch of brewer's yeast to the mixture and a few drops of Petinic®. We also still use Amoxicillin for some ferrets (usually ones with concurrent medical problems) during the early stages of the virus to prevent bacterial "opportunists" from further complicating recovery.
We would like to hear feedback from our
readers and veterinarians who try this new treatment and hear what results
you have with it. so far all of the feedback we have received has
been positive. Also, if you have other things to suggest, please
call Mary Van Dahm at the FAIR shelter 708-681-3181.
This article may be reprinted or published,
UNCHANGED AND IN ITS ENTIRETY, provided proper credit is given to
the author, Mary VanDahm.
