Hi Vickie,
 
I think I understand what you are going through with Moogie.  I have a 7.5
year old ferret with adrenal disease and insulinoma, he had two surgeries
in 6 months and was wasting away to nothing, so weak and wobbly he could
hardly walk.  I felt just terrible.
 
I took him back to Dr. Weiss (my vet, an expert on ferrets) and he put him
on Prednisone for the insulinoma.  It really does seem to work wonders.  He
is also on a testosterone blocker for the adrenal disease; Dr. Weiss says
some ferrets need estrogen blockers, some testosterone blockers, and some
both.  He also says the side effects for ferrets from these medicines are
minimal.  Elie has steadily gained weight and the prednisone gives him a
great appetite.  He even frisks and plays with the other ferrets a little
bit.  He had lost almost all of his fur and it is all growing back in now.
He truly is a miracle boy.
 
My point is that surgery may be the best move (I'm not a vet so I can't be
sure of that) but the Pred is inexpensive, has minimal side effects, and it
helps stabilize the animal's blood sugar, as well as increasing their
appetite.  Your vet may not know that it is indicated.  Dr. Weiss has
consistently said to me that if any vets or shelters have questions about
this treatment, they should call him.  I am including his contact
information below.
 
In the meantime, if you're not hand-feeding your baby to supplement his
regular food, you may want to try it.  Ferrets become emaciated so easily!
Any of the many varieties of 'Duck Soup' will work.  Mine prefer chicken or
turkey baby food (I buy the organic kind) laced with ferretone.  Avoid
ferretvite until he is on Pred, and also raisins or anything that is very
sweet as that will aggravate the insulinoma.  Elie was also becoming
dehydrated so I started giving him a feeding syring full of Pedialyte once
a day.  Dehydration is very dangerous.  If his eyes look a little sunken in
or if you pull up the skin at the nape of the neck and it takes a long time
to snap back you should probably give Pedialyte as well.  It is not a
substitute for food, just a way to get the fluids and electrolytes back in
balance quickly.
 
Best of luck,
 
Gail Snyder Shochet
 
Dr. Weiss' information:
 
Dr. Charles Weiss, D.V.M.
Potomac Animal Hospital
Potomac, Maryland
301-299-4142
[Posted in FML issue 2446]