My baby ferret I just bought has a horrible upper respiratory infection and has passed ADV (ferret version of parvo virus) to my older ferret. The vet has told me that it is very unlikely that my other ferret will survive the parvo.. So some intense prayers would be a blessing.. Don't bother reading through everything else unless you really feel like reading forever.. I only wrote it all down bc it helps me to get it off my chest..
I posted before about my new ferret baby I brought home on the 24th of this month but things have really taken a turn for the very worst. The day I picked him out I noticed he sneezed a lot more than normal and that he was very lethargic while I held him but the pet store people just said that that's his personality. When I asked about the sneezing and the weird noises that he was making they said he makes them just to be silly and that he is perfectly healthy and ready to go home. So $140 later I brought him home. I introduced him to my family, took pictures and let him get to know my other ferret. Everything was great until yesterday when I checked on my baby ferret and saw that both his nostrils were packed tight with ooze and his eyes were runny and yellow.. So I took him back to the pet store I got him from to ask some questions. The owner was out of town bc of some deaths in his family so one of the other employees was there and told me she didn't have a clue and told me I could probably just trade him in for another one.
That to me was very unsettling bc why would I want to pick out another ferret from the very same litter that was probably sick too? So I told her I didn't want to do that. She took my name and number and told me she would give it to the owner, Joe, when he got back and he would give me a call. (didn't happen) So I made an emergency appt. at a vet about an hour from where I live called Blue Ridge Vet bc they are the only vet within hours and hours who have vets who specialize in ferrets. Well the appointment was horrible. I decided this morning right before I left that I had to bring both of my ferrets bc my older ferret wasn't himself and was sneezing and had pooped out some totally disgusting mucus like poop.. So I brought both and after an hour of questions, needles, fecal tests, bloodwork and tears the vet concluded that the baby ferret has a horrible upper respiratory infection, was extremely malnurished and dehydrated and needed immediate warm fluids by injection. And she said that the baby ferret is a 'carrier' of ADV (ferret version of the parvo virus) and that he has passed it onto my older ferret. She said that a lot of baby ferrets pick it up and never suffer from the virus and simply pass it on to other ferrets (btw my doggies and kitties can't get it). The worst part came when she explained to me that there is no treatment for the parvo in my older ferret (1yr old) and that very, very few adult ferrets survive it.
At this point I'm falling apart and can't stop crying. They ran a fecal test which came back negative for any parasites or abnormal bacteria and they explained that my older ferrets mucus like yellow feces is caused by the ADV. She also explained that all I could do for him is give him an antibiotic, just like the baby, to help fight off the upper respitory infection he's beginning to show signs of and attempt to keep him eating and drinking. She also gave me syringes to give him pedialite and gatorade if he stops drinking and some special wet food to feed him by hand if he refuses to eat. She had to inject some warm fluids into the baby ferret bc when you tug/pull on his skin it wouldn't snap back into place, it just stayed pulled back
That was really tough bc everytime they pushed more into him he cried and writhed even more..
We had plans to go away for the weekend to see my mom get her All-Star pin (we're in 4-H.. not sure if anybody even knows what that is) at Jacksons Mill, WV but can't go now bc I have to keep an hourly watch on them. My mom has been waiting her whole life to get this award and I can't see her recieve it..
I went back to the pet store today bc the owner was back and spoke to him and he made photo copies of my vet bill ($170.00) and said he would fax/email them to Wilcox? I'm guessing that this is a middle man ferret broker perhaps? He said if he was sick Wilcox? was responsible. He asked me to call him back tonight around 7 so I plan to.
I'm really upset bc everybody claims to not be at fault for my ferrets illnesses and I find that to be rediculus. The Marshall guaranatee only cover genetic defects, not viruses or influenza etc. Dog Gone Pets claims it's Wilcox's fault. But all I know is that I paid $140 to by a ferret that was promised to have a clean bill of health. I then had to pay $170 for a vet visit. (which I didn't have enough money for and thank God the people there are so understanding and sweet and have worked out a paying program for me) And if my ferret stops eating and drinking I HAVE to rush him back to Blue Ridge where he will be put on an IV and put under a 24 hour watch which costs $300 per day.
And since my bf and I have to stay home and take care of the ferrets every hour by the hour we can't make it to our weekend trip which we already payed for and we can't get our money back, $155. And beyond all the financial losses I have to miss my mother getting her pin and my beloved ferret is unlikely to survive this virus
And I don't want to point fingers at anyone in this situation and I don't want to make anyone out to be the bad guy but I do feel that I deserve help. I feel very betrayed and left out in the cold. I only bought another ferret so my ferret would have a companion and now he's dying bc of it.. I feel so lost..