Hi!
 
I've been trying to find some information about side effects of pred in
insulinomic ferrets but haven't been able to find what I want.
 
I have a 4 year old male who's been taking pred for about 4 months.  We
started him on 0.5mg/Kg twice a day (He is also on a diet of pureed
chicken mixed with dry food).  He got the pred-belly and went from 3lbs
to over 5lbs (the scale we bought for him only goes up to 5lbs, so I'm
not sure exactly how much he weights now).  Is this weight gain normal?
What is the normal weight gain for a ferret under these conditions?.
Could this much weight gain be the result of him eating more food that
he used to, added to the fact that he is taking pred?
 
It got to a point where he was having difficulty breathing when he was
laying on his back (labored breathing).  So we gradually decreased the
pred dose.  We are now down to about 0.12mg/Kg twice/day.  the vet
suggested giving him pred only on alternating days, but after a couple of
days it seemed like he was getting weak again so we started giving it to
him every day again, but with a much lower dose.  What is your experience
with this?  I know some ferrets are taken off the pred for months, how do
you know if the ferret is ready for that?
 
He had a surgery before starting him on pred, and he hasn't regained the
hair that was shaven.  Is this a side effect of the steroids in the pred?
Should he regain his full coat in time for winter?  Or will he stay like
this as long as he is on pred?
 
Thank you all for your input.  I would appreciate if you could respond to
my email.  <[log in to unmask]>
 
Thanks again.
 
-Luis
[Posted in FML issue 3862]