MMM: Due to the levels of hormones and the level of prostate inflammation
dysuria (difficulty urinating or inability to urinate) is a not unusual
problem for a male ferret who have or are just getting past adrenal
neoplasia.  If it's not too bad time will correct it after surgery; if
it is bad or surgery isn't done then Propecia/Proscar is used.
 
Info on dysuria, prostates, Propecia/Proscar, ligation of the Vena
Cava or alternatives can be found in:
http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/ferret-search.html
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/
and
http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/ferrethealth/prostate.txt
as well as some of the vets' links in the critical refs at
http://www.ferretcongress.org
 
Long term Diarrhea:
 
Go to
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
and in the section that reads
 
>Disease Information (for owners and their veterinarians)
 
>* On the Nature of Neoplasms (first published in Ferrets Magazine,
   July 2002)
>* Adrenal Disease
>* Chordoma
>* Dental Disease
>* Epizootic Catarrhal Enteritis
>* Gastric Ulcers
>* Heartworm Disease
>* Inflammatory Bowel Disease (first published in Ferrets Magazine,
   May 2002)
>* Insulinoma (first published in Ferrets Magazine, November 2002)
>* Lymphosarcoma
>* Mast Cell Tumors
>* Sebaceous Epithelioma
>* Squamous Cell Carcinoma
 
select the Inflammatory Bowel Disease one.
 
There is a great deal more useful information at that site on many more
topics.
 
You will also find more help at the same sites mentioned in the dysuria
reply above, except that you'd use other things at the FHL Smartgroups
site.  Bland foods like baby foods as used at times to help reduce the
irritation found with IBD but chicken and sometimes all poultry can at
times be part of the cause since some develop either an allergy or
intolerance to such foods.  Search under "Rinkie Dink" in the
sonic-weasel site (Complete FHL Archives) to read of an extreme example.
In the segment on "Feeding a sick ferret" in the AFIP site above note
the restrictions involved in going to such a diet as well as when there
are benefits.  I have run into a few people who forgot that babyfood
should be stopped after a while and malnutrition can result as can morbid
obesity.
 
Val, I'd get her blood glucose tested.  If her liver is kicking up then
she might have a larger chance of not processing Prednisone as well as
she would process Prednisolone so keep that in the back of your mind.
 
As usual:  I am not a vet...
[Posted in FML issue 4164]