Hi,
 
>my 7 1/2 year old critter  [snip]
>
>Question is, he's shown hind-leg weakness several times (he looks like
>he is dragging his belly across the floor like he needs to wipe after
>peeing), but then it goes away.  Does that mean anything, or when
>people refer to hind-leg weakness, does it come and go in their ferret
>too?
 
It comes and goes.  Blood sugar varies.  It goes up after a ferret
eats and then goes down again gradually.  In both of my old guys with
insulinoma (onset around age eight) they had good days and bad days,
and good hours and bad hours within those days.  Also, in ferrets where
insulinoma develops gradually they can become accustomed to low blood
sugar.  When Kodo was symptomatic his blood glucose was often in the 20s.
When he was doing great it was in the 40s.  I would definitely have your
vet check Linus' blood sugar.
 
>He's always been such a happy go lucky ferret, sometimes he comes out
>of his cage and runs around, checks things out, climbs into the tub to
>drink water (he loves that), then sometimes, he literally falls out of
>his cage and half drags/half waddles around.
 
A vet check is definitely in order.  Insulinoma does sound like a likely
cause.  What you describe happened to both Podo and Kodo.  The good news
is both had surgery (yes, at eight years old) and have done very well.
Podo is bouncing around like a kit again and had been symptom free for
over five months so far with no meds.  Kodo started showing symptoms
again after four months with a blood glucose of 74.  He is responding
nicely to a low dose of prednisone so he is still definitely seeing
benefit from the surgery.  The main thing is Kodo is happy and bouncy as
always.
 
I am not for one minute suggesting Linus have surgery, particularly if
he has other medical problems.  I am suggesting that you and your vet
can decide a course of treatment that's appropriate for him that can
definitely help him if he's got insulinoma.
 
The usual disclaimer applies: I am not a vet, but I do have four ferrets
who have been treated for insulinoma and are doing very well at the
moment, including two old timers.
 
Regards,
Caity and the non-stop nine
[Posted in FML issue 3994]