Last week, after arriving home from work, I observed Felicia laying in her
cage.  Several red flags went up in my head.  Felicia, when she spots you
looking in her direction, ACTIVELY engages in ferret antics and does NOT let
up until she is OUT of her cage!!!  Not that day...  she lay there, not
really asleep, not really awake.  I picked her up, and, to my surprise, she
just stayed in my arm.  This is not Felicia, she is up,  she wants down, she
is ready to run.  She is a hellion (and a joy to behold when she's dancing!!)
 She was so docile.  And she was shaking.  She shakes when she wakes up as a
rule, but this shaking had a different quality to it.  He whole body was
shaking, vibrating.  Not the usually "You woke me up!" quivers.
 
I put her down on the couch.  Usually she bounds up and jumps off, looking
for trouble.  Instead, she just lay there, like a camel does.  She didn't
move, she was still shaking.  I was scared to death.
 
I went straight to the vet.  He told me he suspected, from my description,
insulinoma, a cancerous tumor of the pancreas.  This would manifest itself,
he explained, as hypoglycemia.  He said that was a rule, It's Insulinoma
until otherwise proven in ferrets presenting with these symptoms.  I also
realized that her apetite had diminished somewhat.  Being very thin to begin
with, he explained she had no sugar stores in her body to offset the large
amount of insulin being produced by the cancerous pancreas.
 
He admitted her and did blood work, administered subcutaneous fluids and took
x-rays.  The x-rays were negative.   He kept her two nights.  When I picked
her up, he explained that he had some knowledge of ferrets, that the blood
test done at the hospital was registering 40.  The sample they sent to the
lab registered 80.  He said that blood that sits around in labs can read
higher due to the cells leaching sugar while they sit.
 
I was sent home with amoxicillin, pedi-pred and nutri-cal, in the event that
the above circumstance happens again.  He said it would raise her blood sugar
immediately.  He said, with this treatment and a change in diet, she should
bounce back.  It's over a week after discharge and I see a slightly improved
but still lethargic ferret.  She sleeps most of the time.  If I wake her up
and give her her meds, she will roam around for about 20-30 minutes.  Then
she will seek her nap spot in the couch.  When my other ferret, Rex, tries to
play with her, she hisses and snaps at him.  The change in her is like night
and day.  I'm really worried about her.
 
I called the vet back yesterday.  He was hoping for a very much improved
ferret.  He was going to call colleagues who practice east of here, and
consult with them.  He even suggested I take her out there after he speaks to
them.  I haven't heard from him yet.  Has anyone else had any experience like
the one I've described?
 
I just read almost 2 weeks of back digest issues, busy with a too-full life
and a sick fuzzie.  My condolences to everyone who has lost a dear friend
recently.  Joy to Fitz, so glad he's making a recovery.  What a comeback!
 Also, I wanted to mention the 8 in 1 food I saw recently in the pet store.
 I was looking for Purina Ferret chow, what the vet recommended, when I came
across the 8 in 1.  After reading the ingredients, I hesitated to give it to
my 2 due to what I saw as a high sugar count.  I read cane sugar, I believe,
as well as molasses, raisin juice and I can't remember what else.  There just
seemed to be a lot of sugars.  I ended up with Iams kitten food.  The
carbohydrate content is high, and they seem to like it.
 
Sorry this is so long.  If anyone has any info, please pass it on.  She's
about 3 years old and has otherwise been a very healthy, active, frolicking
furball!!!
 
Life is like a ferret kiss, you never know what you're gonna get - lick or
chomp!!
 
Vicki, Felicia, the sick hellion, and Rex-ter, the stub-tailed albino!
[Posted in FML issue 1145]