>I work for a vet and we do not specialize in ferrets but we have had a
>peculiar case come in tonight.  I do not have a lot of information but I
>will tell you what I know.
>
>The ferret is middle-aged, female, and appears to have been in good
>health prior to becoming ill.  She became lost in the basement of her
>home for a couple of days and after she was located, she had little
>appetite.  She is dehydrated, running a slight fever (103F), and very
>lethargic.  She does twitch a bit, but there is no pronounced seizure
>activity.  She can move her back legs but shows no desire to get up and
>move about.  Her blood glucose was 211.
 
Lost for several days, in apparently good health prior - now lethargic
with a low temp and dehydrated.
 
First thing you should consider is a stress-induced gastric ulcer.
Ulceration in the stomach often lead to low grade fever as a result of
bacteria and their byproducts getting access to the bloodstream through
the hole in the gastric mucosa.  The stomach is by no means a sterile
environment.
 
The stress response in ferrets generally does not include hyperglycemia,
but it certainly does in other species, and this may be an unusual case.
 
After rehydration, lets rerun the CBC and glucose and see where they have
leveled off at - you may see anemia after the dehydration is corrected,
which would also point toward gastric ulceration.
 
Of course, there may be other things going on here, even early diabetes,
but let's play the odds, first.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3755]