Can somebody please help me?? I live in Jackson, Mississippi and have a
ferret that I strongly suspect has insulinoma. His age is unknown, due
to the fact that he, like all my others, was a rescue, but I'm guessing
3-4 yrs old. He was showing no signs of anything being wrong, other
than not being quite as active as usual. I started noticing some weight
loss,then he stopped playing at all. Five to ten minutes out of the
cage and he would hide and go to sleep. He seemed to be eating and
drinking normally.
I have recently moved here, and have no vet with extensive ferret
experience. I took him to the clinic that had been reccommended to me
by quite a few people and other vets as having the most knowledgeable
vets, as far as ferrets go. They were honest in telling me that they
are not ferret experts, but would run bloodwork and confer with another
vet that I had heard about in Starkville,Ms (former teacher at the
college there). They were not able to get blood, so my baby, Sambo,
had to be gassed down to obtain a sample. They still were not able to
obtain enough blood to complete the tests they wanted, but a CBC showed
normal. The glucose sample showed 29. After food and Nutrical, the
glucose went up to 41. He was showing no sign of distress, seizures,
etc. so I took him home where I kept up the two hour feeding schedule
of duck soup plus Nutrical all weekend. (Meantime, I placed a call to
the vet in Starkville and left a message about the blood sugar being so
low and the fact that Sambo has lost almost a full pound since his last
vaccination 9 months ago. I have yet to hear from him.)
Iwas refered to another vet here in Jackson, who Sambo went to see last
night. She tested his glucose and got a reading of 57 and then added
20 pts which she said is necessary when using a human glucometer on a
ferret? (Don't know if the first vet did or knew to do this) She also
recommends surgery immediately, with no Pred to get the sugar back
closer to normal, as it inhibits healing.
I've read all about the treatments- medication vs surgery- looking for
opinions as well as a vet who is well practiced in this area! Diet
suggestions esp. welcome! PLEASE HELP QUICKLY!!!!! I am getting so much
conflicting info--My #1 concern is getting my baby out of immediate
danger. #2 taking care of the problem in the best way for my baby.
[Posted in FML 5784]
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