What does it mean when a ferret sneezes?
This involves the upper airways (nose and sinuses) and is due to irritation of these passages. Sneezing helps clear irritants and can be normal in ferrets as long as it is only heard occasionally.
Why do ferrets have problems with their eyes?
A veterinarian at an exotics practice is also likely to have to treat ferret injuries. The majority of eye problems are a result of congenital or hereditary issues, infections, trauma or cancer. Sometimes the disease threatens the ferrets’ life in addition to its vision.
Can You diagnose glaucoma in a ferret?
However, it can be difficult to diagnose glaucoma in ferrets. “We don’t see the normal signs in ferrets that we do in dogs and cats,” Dr. Williams said. “Ferrets often do not have any corneal edema. They also tend not to exhibit the pain that we see in dogs and cats, [which] will hold their eyes closed.”.
How can you tell if a ferret has cancer?
According to Burgess, the only way to confirm the diagnosis is to do ultrasound on the area behind the eyes to see if there is a lump there, do a needle biopsy to see if it is cancerous, and measure the pressure inside the eyeballs to see if there’s an increase in pressure.
Is it possible to remove cataract from a ferret?
On rare occasions, surgery may be done to remove the cataract, but this is not always practical. “Cataracts surgery is relatively risky in ferrets,” Burgess said. “They have very small eyes and doing a lens extraction on them is more difficult than it is on a dog or a cat.
A veterinarian at an exotics practice is also likely to have to treat ferret injuries. The majority of eye problems are a result of congenital or hereditary issues, infections, trauma or cancer. Sometimes the disease threatens the ferrets’ life in addition to its vision.
According to Burgess, the only way to confirm the diagnosis is to do ultrasound on the area behind the eyes to see if there is a lump there, do a needle biopsy to see if it is cancerous, and measure the pressure inside the eyeballs to see if there’s an increase in pressure.
However, it can be difficult to diagnose glaucoma in ferrets. “We don’t see the normal signs in ferrets that we do in dogs and cats,” Dr. Williams said. “Ferrets often do not have any corneal edema. They also tend not to exhibit the pain that we see in dogs and cats, [which] will hold their eyes closed.”.
How is uveitis treated in a ferret eye?
Uveitis is usually treated with anti-inflammatory medications such as cortisone (usually in the form of eye drops) to try to reduce the inflammatory process. “If the root cause is Aleutian’s virus, it’s hard to stop that, but you need to at least try to suppress the inflammation because that’s what harms the eye,” Burgess said.
