Kim writes >I STILL think that treating an insulinomic ferret with an improved >diet and as little steroid as possible is the way to go. Agreed. But I think one of Julie's points is that you can't know how successful your treatment is unless you test the ferret's blood sugar. In MANY ferrets, low blood sugar can develop so slowly that the owner will only notice the older ferret sleeps more and plays less. Not until the blood sugar becomes critically low will some ferrets show the more obvious symptoms of staring into space, drooling or seizures. When I first started making Bob's Chicken Gravy, I was also able to lower my first ferret Belle's pred dose for a long period of time. But by periodically checking her blood sugar, I knew when it was time to increase the dose again. Testing a ferret's blood sugar need not be any more stressful than it is for a human. It can be a critical part of maintaining health for both. Linda Iroff [Posted in FML 5508]