I was out of town this past weekend, visiting my parents with my
2-year-old, and Linus had an "episode" while I was gone.  This always
seems to happen when I am not around!  Anyway, my husband found him at
3 in the morning, shaking, soiled, flopping around (he is having hind-end
trouble, effecting his balance).  When he picked him up he started to
seizure, he thinks -- my husband said he was jerking his legs around and
couldn't seem to stop.  he did this for 10 minutes.  He took him to the
emergency vet, a very wonderful group of people in downtown Portland who
unfortunately do not know much about ferrets.  They do admit this, and
since my first trip to them in '96 it hasn't changed.  Anyway, they did
an exam and stabilized Linus.  They checked his blood sugar and said it
was 140!!!!!  So they absolutely ruled out low blood sugar causing the
seizure.  They identified a mid-size mass in his abdomen.  They gave him
valium -- I can't remember the dosage now but his regular vet said it
was 5 to 10 times the amount they would usually give a ferret, though
they don't usually give ferrets valium.
 
This all happened when I was sound asleep at my parents', completely
oblivious.
 
When all was said and done, Linus came home from the emergency vet
completely wiped out, totally stoned out of his little Linus-head and
just depressed.  I came home early from my parents and held him.  I've
been holding him ever since, about 36 or so hours.  Feeding him every 3
hours.  He has improved a little bit, he does not feel like a "sack of
ferret", he feels stronger, but he doesn't move around much at all.  When
he does he flops around.  He is not eating or drinking on his own.  He is
urinating/pooping okay, in fact does not have diahrrea; unfortunately, he
can't seem to control it now.  When it pops into his head that he needs
to go, he just goes.  We have doubled his diazoxide med, but it hasn't
made much difference.  He's going to the vet today to have his blood
sugar checked.  We think his 140 blood sugar at the emergency vet was
because my husband gave him maple syrup.  He is certainly not acting
like a ferret with a 140 blood sugar!
 
I know they can be depressed after a seizure, but the vet was concerned
it was lasting this long.  I am hoping he gets better.  He is not a happy
ferret right now at all.  We both know he can't live forever, but I just
wish he would improve and not look so depressed and be so lifeless!  I
don't know what they did with him at the emergency vet, the lady who
treated him told me she went to vet school in a state where ferrets were
illegal.  We were hoping they had knocked him out with the high dosage of
valium, but it should be out of his system by now.  They were really nice
and wanted to "advocate for Linus", I don't think they wanted me to take
him home.  I couldn't imagine him staying there, and his regular vet was
open for a couple hours but otherwise were closed the whole weekend.  I
hope his current situation is due to the seizure and wasn't compounded
by the treatment...
 
Sorry this is so long.  It all happened pretty quickly and I think I
ended up with mental whiplash.
 
Minta & Linus
[Posted in FML issue 4104]