To Mary Allen:
 
>Last night Merritt started to cry very loud.  I went in to find him...
>making this terrible cry, and was soaking wet from salivating.  This is the
>third time this has happened in the past few months.  Prior to that, he has
>never done this...  Also, he does seem to be a bit more wobbly when he
>first gets up -- He's now about 4 1/2.  Do I need to be concerned?
 
    Mary , whiel it may jsut be a coincidence - your post lists three of the
major signs of islet cell tumros (insulinomas) in ferrets.  We often hear
vocalization in animals with blood glucose in the very low ranges druing a
hypoglycemic cases.  In fact these animals often lose consciousness (I have
heard it reffered to as going"screaming into a coma".) Hypersalivation is
also a sign that we see with hypoglycemic ferrets.
    As far as wobbliness - ferrets can be wobby as a result of either
acture or chronic hypoglycemia - the chronic hypoglycemia can cause
degenerative changes in peripheral nerves, which affects locomotion.
        I thin a blood glucose test is certainly in order for Merritt.
 
--
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP              Department of Veterinary Pathology
[log in to unmask]               Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]             Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
(202) 782-2600/2602
[Posted in FML issue 1188]