I was hoping to hear from anyone with any experience with diabetes. I understand it's extremely rare, especially when it develops for no obvious reason, is not a side effect from medication or pancreatic surgery. So far I've been guided by by long time shelter moms within the PFSN for which I am grateful but this seems to be so rare that there aren't many people who have actually experienced or cared for a ferret with diabetes. Starsky was tested because he was lethargic and showing signs of insulinoma. His first bg tested at 393. I was in disbelief so I shook the monitor and tested him again. 2nd time it was 424. By the time we got him to the doc, his bg was over 500, and he spent the day in the hospital. Urinalysis also confirmed diabetes. He was given 1/2 of a unit of insulin as a conservative starting point and he was tested throughout the day. By 4:00pm today, his bg was down to 277. We brought him home, tested him at 8:00pm and it was back up to 399. We gave him another 1/2 unit and will monitor him throughout the night. I am going to leave him at the hospital again for the day tomorrow to be monitored and may continue to take him back until he is stable (to the tune of $100 a day I might add). I can give insulin and subq's (only because Michelle graciously let me practice on her until I got it right and then she let me use her ferrets), but I can't monitor him and I refuse to leave him for several hours while I'm at work. I'm pretty sure I have the perfect home for him (still trying to wear her down) but in the meantime, I need to get him stable. Is there anyone out there who has experience with a diabetic ferret who might help out with advice? As an afterthought, I commissioned the ferret dragon artist, Arylkia to create some holiday ferrets which made great T-shirts and cards, to help raise funds for the shelter. They are all on the "Go Shopping" page on the shelter website. I appreciate your support. Terri Little Dudes Ferret Ranch www.littledudesferretranch.com [Posted in FML issue 4713]