Okay, I've got a question for any and all of the medical mavens on the
list...

Has anybody else had a ferret show signs of low blood sugar that *didn't*
manifest into something more serious?  In other words, I'm looking for
instances where they just played too hard, got worn out, and had a
transient low blood sugar episode.

Backstory: Sinead the Wonder Weasel had an adrenalectomy about 3 months
ago, and has been recovering quite nicely.  The bald spot on her rump
hasn't quite filled in, but I didn't expect it to completely disappear
until her fall coat change, since she unravels in spring anyway.  She's
not quite five years old, and acts like she's five months.  She's been
eating, drinking, and pooping like a normal healthy ferret.  However,
the lab report came back on the adrenal tumor, and it was a carcinoma,
not an adenoma like roughly 90% of adrenal growths are.  What can I say;
she's always been a contrary little thing.  ;-)

Her vet didn't see any signs that it had spread, and was pretty sure that
we caught it early enough to prevent it from doing so.  There's never a
guarantee, though, so I've been watching her like the proverbial hawk.

Tonight, she was rambunctious as ever during playtime; slowed down a bit
at the end, but not alarmingly so.  I picked her up for a cuddle, and
noticed that her expression was kind of vacant.  No sniffs (and she
always checks out my perfume), no nuzzles, and no kisses.  I waved a
finger in front of her face, and she didn't seem to track the motion.
I put her down on my bed; she just stood there, and I noticed that she
was drooling.

I gave her some Ferretvite, and she perked up a little bit.  I plopped
her onto the gram scale, and she just curled up in the bowl and lay
there.  Now, this is highly uncharacteristic for her; normally when we do
a weight check, I have to figure out where the center point of the jiggle
on the dial is, since she's wiggling so much.  There isn't any bribing
her to hold still.  Not tonight, though.  I gave her some more 'Vite and
put her to bed, and have been worried ever since.

I know that low blood sugar symptoms generally mean one of two things
with ferrets: gastric ulcers, or insulinoma, and I haven't seen the other
indicators that would point to an ulcer -- she's not pawing at her mouth
or grinding her teeth, and her poop looks normal.  I know what the worst
case scenario is; what I'd like to know is whether or not anybody else
has seen this as an isolated incident.

(I just checked on her again, by the way, and she's sleeping like a log.)

Thanks bunches,

Becca, who needs a Partridge Family van themed pet taxi that says
"Caution, Nervous Mother Carrying..."
[Posted in FML issue 5276]