Re: Blood Glucose
>When you check a ferrets blood glucose where do you take the spec from?
>You can't pick their tiny little fingers can you?  :<(
 
Our oldest ferret, Squirt, has insulinoma.  We have been treating it with
Proglycem since february-march.  Every month we take him back to our vet's
for a blood glucose reading.  (We've had to have the dosage adjusted once
already.) They clip a back toenail short to get the blood they need for the
test.  I know they stop the blood with something, although I'm not sure
what.
 
If you've ever misclipped a toenail on a dog, cat, or ferret before, you'll
know that it will bleed quite a bit.  I wouldn't suggest clipping short
toenails for blood samples unless you know what you are doing or you have
gotten instruction from your vet.
 
Re: Sick Ferret
>around his eye is normally pink, of course, but tonight I noticed around
>his right eye the rim was really red.  [...] Nothing new has been added to
>his diet or environment *except*- I did sprinkle some black pepper around
>the door today because McKyle was digging at the carpet.  Could this have
>irritated his eye?
 
You got it!  I would steer clear of powdered things like black peper as
deterants.  It is too easy for both carpet crawlers and diggers to get it in
their eyes and nose.  If you doubt black pepper's unpleasantness in the eye
department, try some yourself.  I'm sure you'll agree it is irritating!  %^]
 
I'd suggest vaccuming up the pepper and trying something like a piece of
plexiglass or a vinyl runner taped or otherwise fixed down to protect your
carpet.  You'll be happier with the results!
 
Re: Insulinoma
>Second, I would like to hear from those of you with ferret who have or had
>insulinoma.  I want to look at facts on how ferrets did with and without
>surgery.  If the surgery improved their quality of life.  I am going to
>compile all the information I get and then I will post my findings.
 
Surgery is an option.  It is an option we may have to sooner or later
explore with Squirt.  But right now we are treating the symptoms with
proglycem.  Some treat it with predisone (sp?) as well.  Proglycem is a
relatively costly alternative.  We pay $130 per bottle which lasts a few
months (depending upon dosage of course).  The nice part about proglycem is
that it "ties up" the extra insulin produced.  This way we are countering
the effects directly.  Predisone is a steriod that in some way has the
effect of helping to raise the overall blood sugar although I forget how.
(I'm no vet nor animal health care expert so I may have gotten some bits
wrong.  If that's the case, I welcome corrections!)
 
Squirt was the eternal speed bump and sleepy head before we started
treatment.  After we started treatment, he started playing again and acted
much like his old self.  After a couple of months, we noticed he started to
become more lethargic again.  The dosage was increased and he has bounced
back again.
 
Our vet has said that the medicine will only work so long before its
effective- ness is minimized.  But the treatments allows us to put off
surgery for the time being.  If we can improve the quality of life, even
for a while, without surgery through medication, I'm all for it.  Squirt is
not our most roboust ferret.  He is slow to recover from things.  (He's
been through adrenal surgery and other life threatening conditions before.)
I'm not opposed to having the surgery done, I just want to make sure there
isn't another viable option to improve his well- being and happiness.
 
-kim, squirt (yawn!), pippi (meep!), atlas (bop!), and jinx (nip!)
 
Kimberly Burkard     |             _    Everything I needed to know in life,
Eastman Kodak Company|      _____C .._. I learned from my ferret:
Rochester, New York  | ____/     \___/  Frolic and dance for joy often, have
[log in to unmask]    |<____/\_---\_\    no fear or worries, and enjoy life.
[Posted in FML issue 2364]