>In several of the listings shelters indicated a desire to obtain
>'prednisone' and 'epinepherine' in their wish list section, now I wonder ...
>do/don't these medications lose their potency and effectiveness over time,
>and if so, how long does the medicine retain a safe level of potency?<<
 
Pred (either prednisone or prednisilone) has a shelf life of about two
years in pill fashion.  If you have pills to donate - please send them to
shelters in their original bottles with the issue date so ferret people
know how long they will be good for, and what dosage the pills are in -
there are several sizes, and not all shelters know fromthe shape of the
pill what the dosage is.
 
I can't answer on the 'epinepherine'.
 
Another item that I'm sure ferret shelters could use and forget to ask for
are cans of Sustical, Ensure, Jevity, Deliver 2.0, etc.  These cans have
expiration dates on them, but I have found from experiance that the product
can stay useable in the can almost a year after the expiration date.
BELIEVE ME - YOU CAN SMELL WHEN THE PRODUCT HAS GONE BAD!  If yo don't think
you can, just open a can, leave it on the counter for 24 hours, then do a
sniff - UGH!
 
Anyway - if you can visit your local retirement community, nursing home, or
hospital, ask for expired cans of these products, and then take a road trip
to your nearest ferret shelter.  Vanilla is my flavor of choice for my
ferrets, but they have consumed the chocolate and strawberry formulas as
well.  Jevity has no flavor - it is used for tube feeding, and lacks the
sugar that the other products have.  It is my preferred ingredient for
insulinoma ferrets.  If anyone has Jevity available to them in Virginia -
I'm running low myself and have two ferrets with insulinoma.  I'll easily
go buy Ensure at Price/Costco, but would prefer Jevity if someone can get
it for me.
 
Thanks - Pam
[Posted in FML issue 2264]