Hi everyone!
 
Things can be crazy sometimes, and I am still recovering from being ill
(thank goodness, only me, none of the ferrets were sick!!!), so here goes:
 
Bob Church - Once more, a man after my own heart - I HATE distemper!!!!
Especially since it is SO preventable!!!  I understand the dilemma of
persons who have ferrets that have reacted to the vaccine, but distemper
will kill them, no if and buts or maybes about it.  I recommend to people
whose ferrets have reacted to FERVAC- D to either leave the ferret at the
vets all day for the shot (and remind the vet about the reaction beforehand)
or vaccinate using GALAXY.  I can never understand why anyone would decide
not to vaccinate - yes the ferret MAY die from the reaction, but after
having to euthanize 7 rescue ferrets because they had contracted distemper,
I can tell you it is not as painful a death!  AND the ferret WILL die from
distemper!!  I also beg anyone whose ferret had been diagnosed with
distemper to do the right thing and have the ferret euthanized - it is a
viral nuclear bomb to any other dogs or ferrets and the virus is fairly
hardy.  I do not mean to be harsh, I just have personally seen the things
that distemper can do, and it is ugly.
 
The ferret with runny stools & fur in them - is it possible that the ferret
is shedding his coat?  Sometimes when they begin to blow their coat, they
will lick and ingest fur - this is my opinion, especially since you say it
is seasonal.  Try petromalt or Cat lax to help pass them.  It is also
possible that the ferret may have a mass of fur in his digestive tract.
This will help to pass it, if its not too large.
 
Insulinoma treatments - I am in the same boat - I have a 7 year old who was
diagnosed with insulinoma last November.  I made the decision to not do
surgery because of her age & condition.  You can try to supplement the
prednisolone with proglycem - but be warned - this stuff is expensive -
about $50.00 a month!!!  It does help with the ups and downs in blood sugar.
I also recommend brewers yeast daily for any insulinoma ferrets.  It helps
them more fully digest food.
 
Finally - ferrets that go bump in the night - I had a baby, Misha, who used
to wake me up faithfully at 2:30 am.  I solved this problem by not letting
the little bugger sleep!!!  I also covered his cage with a towel, so that
when he did start clawing at the cage, it was a little muffled.  As he grew
older, he has gotten out of the habit, and thank goodness, since he now
weighs more than 5 pounds!!!  Thats a lot of ferret to throw around!!
 
Happy Ferreting!
 
Lisa
[Posted in FML issue 1935]