The recommend dose for liquid melatonin is 1mg per day, and the implants
are 5.4mg that last three to four months.  If the 5.4mg implant is
sufficient isn't 1mg of liquid too much?  Or isn't the implant dose
low?  I'm confused on the difference in dosages.  Why is there such a
difference?
 
I want to start my 5 year old on melatonin.  I also have two 1 yr olds
and one 2 year old.  I'm thinking about starting them on it too.  But I'm
wondering if I should wait until they are around 3 yrs.  Should we be
testing our ferret's hormone levels before starting these treatments?
I'm doing some reading on melatonin in humans.  For insomnia humans take
1 to 3 mg and for birth control (Europe) they take up to 75mg.  People
that have chronic fatigue syndrome usually have high levels of melatonin
and low levels of DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone).  I can't find what
exactly the "high level" is.  At a dose of more than 1mg can cause
headaches, disturbance in sleep/wake cycles ( I don't think this would
be an issue in ferrets since they sleep a lot), and negatively affects
insulin utilization.  Does anybody have what the normal range in a ferret
would be?  Can the melatonin levels be specifically tested?
 
I'm not sure if any of you remember Scooter my Cryptococcus ferret.  On
June 3rd the vets found crypto in a lymph node.  His titer level was
4096.  On July 21st it is down to 64.  The vets think that the infection
was primarily isolated to the lymph node because of the dramatic decrease
in the titer.  I believe this is unheard of as most ferrets need to be on
meds for close to a year.  Keep your paws crossed that it goes down to 0
at our next visit on Aug.  20th.
 
Nichole Grant
Owned by Stiffler, Scooter, Suzie, and Sully
[Posted in FML issue 4598]