chronic rhinitis in senior ferret (??)
Hi everyone!
I have a ferret who just turned 6 years old. She has no significant medical history and sees an exotic vet annually. I’m posting here because I haven’t been able to find much information online about chronic rhinitis or chronic congestion in ferrets.
Back in March, I started noticing that she sounded congested. She had no nasal discharge and was otherwise acting completely normal. I scheduled a vet appointment and she was seen in early June. My vet said her heart and lungs sounded normal, but offered to prescribe Clavamox if I wanted to try a course of antibiotics. Her impression was that it was likely chronic rhinitis.
I waited about a month to see if it would clear on its own, but when it didn’t improve, I went ahead with the 10-day course of Clavamox. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to make much difference.
Throughout this entire process (now about 4 months), she has remained completely herself—active, playful, eating normally, exploring, and getting into all kinds of trouble. The only issue is the congestion-like sound. The best way I can describe it is that she sounds like a person recovering from an upper respiratory infection and moving mucus around in their airways. Sometimes I can hear what sounds like mucus, while other times she sounds completely normal.
She does not have adrenal disease or insulinoma, and my vet does not seem particularly concerned. However, whenever I search for chronic congestion in ferrets, I keep finding information about heart disease or lung cancer, which is obviously concerning.
Has anyone had a senior ferret with similar symptoms? Did it end up being chronic rhinitis, allergies, something age-related, or something else entirely? Would you recommend pursuing further diagnostics?
A few additional details:
She is eating and drinking normally.
Energy levels and activity are completely unchanged.
When she’s asleep, she makes no congested or mucusy sounds at all.
The sounds only occur when she’s awake and exploring.
It almost sounds like a chortling or rattly congestion noise.
She does not cough.
She occasionally sneezes, and the sneezes sound wet.
She is currently shedding her winter coat, which I’m sure isn’t helping matters.
Thanks in advance for any advice or experiences you can share!
Enjoy this cute photo of her and her sister ❤️ I’ll also attach a video of what her sneeze sounds like!