Dear Carrie:
 
Just a couple of thoughts for everyone's benefit.
 
>We think Sniffles may have insulinoma.  She is only eight months old
 
This is pretty young for insulinoma - yes it can happen - but it is far
more common later in life.  Wouldn't be on the top of my list for an
eight-month-old
 
>so when we saw the first signs such as the tiredness and not being as
>playful we had thought she had just had a cold or a bug but Thursday night
>it hit.  I walked into the ferrets' room and sniffles wasn't moving.  I
>picked her up and took her to my husband she was just laying there out of
>it.  We rushed her some karo syrup and she seemed alittle better.
 
Doesn't mean that it is insulinoma - ferrets often feel better after almost
any medication - this is why we get so many "false starts" when treating
empirically with antibiotics, etc.  With a young ferret of eight months who
is not eating, moving, or pooping, I always consider a foreign body first
and foremost.  There are other diseases that young ferrets can get, but
with no bloodwork to look at, you have to play the odds, and foreign bodies
are common and potentially life-threatening - so we start there.
 
>She went to her doctor first thing the next day and he said just to
>monitor her through the weekend and I would need to take her to a
>specialist on monday because he didn't feel experienced enough to help
>with this.  We have been feeding her chicken babyfood and ensure ontop of
>when she is eating, it seems to help her.  She is just tired and wants to
>play with her sisters but it seems to hurt her.
 
Insulinomas aren't painful.  And I am surprised if you went in to the vets
with a suspicion of insulinoma, that at least a blood glucose wasn't run
immediately.
 
>She also seems almost afraid to jump down off of things no matter how
>short the distance.  I wanted to know what other ferrets have acted like
>when the had the early stages of Insulnoma.  Sniffles has not lost any
>weight and even looks to have gained.  she is going potty but less than
>nomal.  Her back legs are not seeming to work for her as well as they
>used to but when touched she doen't have any pain reactions.
 
Remember hind limb weakness in ferrets is a very non-specific sign that
could mean a lot of things.
 
At this point, a good exam and workup is probably in order.  Please put a
foreign body at the top of your list, though, and if there is any question,
go to surgery before she gets any weaker and is a much poorer candidate.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3216]