To Chris and her odd ferret:
 
>I was wondering if you had any experience with epilepsy as a
>sole condition in ferrets (i.e., not related to the late stages of >another
disease such as cancer or insulinoma)?
 
 
>* He often "sleeps" with his eyes wide open.  Like he's in a trance or
>something.  If a human goes to touch him, he will panic and run, any >which
way, that doesn't really matter, just run for cover like you are >going to kill
him or something.
 
Chris, this is not unusual behavior.  I have one ferret who did
the same thing for several years, but for some reason he has stopped.  From a
dead sleep, he would jump straight up and run in any direction - he would run
off a cliff if he was sleeping next to one.
 
Also, many ferrets sleep with their eyes open.
 
* When he sleeps with his eyes closed, this isn't an issue.  You can
approach him, and he's just fine.
 
I guess it must be frightening to wake up and be staring right at an
intruder - you don't even have the opportunity to open one eye and take a
peek...
* If he is in a "dead sleep" and another ferret sniffs at him, he will
attack instaneously.  I'm still amazed at the absolute speed at which he is on
them.  Here's the wierd part.  Last night he did this, and I
immediately pulled him off my ferret - guess what, he was still sleeping! He
wasn't even awake!!
 
I have one that does that also.  I don't even reach into the cage to
pick him up - I've pulled back a bleeding hand too many times.  I'll rattle the
cage until he looks fairly cognizant of his surroundings.
 
 
* At night, when I put him in his cage, he flails around - A LOT!  He
often sleeps on his back, half the time with his eyes open, and he's paws and
body are going like crazy - often he scratches at the cage screen and the walls
- but he's definitely NOT awake.  His eyes are open though.  He's also very
noisy during these episodes, moaning and groaning and making "cute" noises - I
never got the impression that he was in pain or anything.
 
This still doesn't suggest epilepsy.  Seizures occur during times when
the animal is wide-awake.  Epilipsy in ferrets is very uncommon - 99% of all
seizure activity in the ferret is due to insulinoma.
 
If this does sound like epilepsy, what are the options for treatment?
 
I can't say that I would treat this one.  Just modify your
his behavior and hope that he grows out of it.
 
 
Bruce Williams, DVM                 Department of Veterinary Pathology
[log in to unmask]         Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (202)
782-2600/2602                 Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
[Posted in FML issue 1071]