This ferret needs to be checked for (among other things): Thromboses (thrown clots). These can land anywhere and can present like that if they wind up in the leg. Thromboses require a rapid talk with your vet and often an emergency appointment. In a leg they should be tackled with massage of the leg. I can recall doing shifts to keep doing gentle massage for one over the space of 24 hours+. The massage helps break down the clot which not only reduces damage to the leg but also reduces the risk of a large chunk of the clot dislodging and going somewhere more dangerous. Thromboses are usually seen in ferrets in relation to cardiomyopathy but can be caused by other things like kidney disease or lymphoma. Some have even been seen in relation to herbals that too badly mess up cardiac function, ex. licorice root. Treat the underlying cause promptly. Injury (in foot, ankle, leg, hip, spine) Diseases that can have neural symptoms (though with only one foot affected the range of those is reduced.) --- When Dr. Williams says that fasting is controversial it does not mean that he thinks that it is always safe. Ferrets who have known insulinoma or may have pronounced insulinoma should not be fasted because the grande mal convulsions which can result from the brain no getting enough sugar to power it can do serious levels of damage to a ferret. At the glucose levels your ferret had fed (just over 80 on the U.S. scale) and fasted (38 on the U.S. scale) I think that you need to consider beginning insulinoma as a real possibility; test regularly, observe carefully, and carefully control the diet. The 38 was so extreme that the blood may have gobbled sugar before it was tested, or there may have been a large amount of insulin produced recently, or there may be something other than an insulinoma in the pancreas. If this was one of ours I'd do a full CBC WITH a Chemistry Panel also done to be safest if that wasn't already done. --- In relation to Chance this vet reply is essential: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/message/1017 The Pred would NOT help enough with the electrolytes. For that either Percorten or Fludrocort/Florinef is needed. BTW, some people later wean their ferrets off these meds. If enough adrenal tissue remains that is at times a possibility, but it can also go wrong. Additionally, even for the ferrets for whom weaning does not go wrong their bodies may not be able to produce enough of the electrolyte balancing cortical steroids when their bodies are under stress (similar to those who are life-long on these meds needing more of the meds when they are under a major stress, esp. a physical one). There usually is no reason to wean ferrets off these meds. Chance was okay for his sodium levels but his potassium levels went up too high for either heart function or basic cellular functions. That is why his kidney values also got thrown off. His ratio of potassium to sodium was way, way off, to a point no longer consistent with life. I am sorry. It is heart breaking. Sukie (not a vet) Current FHL address: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth People can join there or can send a blank mail to the automated joining address: [log in to unmask] and then follow the directions. (The second is recommended for those having problems with Yahoogroups web settings, and afterward send a blank mail from your subscribed address to [log in to unmask] to get the digest instead of individual mails. ) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml [Posted in FML 5500]