To Rochelle: Where did you get the term "coloniosis" and what was it referring to? I am unfamiliar with this. Maybe Dr. Williams will comment when he returns. To Escher's parent(s) Sound to me very much like escher had a hypoglycemia attack and she is likely dealing with an insulinoma (a cancer of the pancreatic beta (insulin producing) cells). It is extremely common in ferrets of her age and the signs are right on. The tumors are very tiny, but produce an excessive amount of insulin which has the effect of driving the blood sugar (glucose) into the bodies cells at too rapid of a rate. When this happens, the circulating blood glucose drops dramatically. The brain needs a CONSTANT supply of glucose to function normally. When the circulating glucose drops too low, the brain malfunctions and it can be shown in a number of symptoms. Some of the common signs that you might see are: Stopping and staring blankly into space (acting out of it) for a few minutes, then snapping out of it, or foaming and pawing at the mouth as if something is in it (caused by a feeling of nausea....this can also be caused by stomach problems like foreign bodies and ulcers, but those cases are usually not eating well on top of things...insulinoma generally does not interfere with eating habits), or just being weak in the hind end as was described in this case and then coming out of it, or going into a comatose state or even seizures. The more advanced the disease is the more frequent the signs and the more severe. As long as the body is able to it will keep counteracting the low glucose by producing more through the liver primarily...but eventually it will be unable to do so and the ferret may go into a permenant coma and pass away. The disease is easily diagnosed with a FASTING blood sugar test. You need to withhold food for 4 to NO MORE THAN 6 hours prior to the test. THis will show if the sugar is too low. Normal fasting sugar should be between 90-120. Your vet can also run an insulin level at the same time, but that is usually (in my experience) unnecessary. Get this pet checked out without delay. Treatment may be a combination of surgery and medical therapy. The worst thing that you can do is give a lot of sugary snacks and treats. All this does is aggravate the condition by stimulating insulin production each time you give them a sugary snack which then results in insulin overload and hypoglycemia later. Use materials such as honey or karo syrup in small amounts ONLY TO BRING THEM OUT OF A HYPOGLYCEMIC state and then as soon as they are swallowing normally and more alert, give them a protein snack such as strained meat baby food or their softened normal food. The protein keeps the glucose from jumping up and down. It is also helpful to keep food always available and to add a supplement of Brewers Yeast to the diet. You can buy brewers yeast and garlic tablets for pets at health food stores or from you vet if they carry it. Or you can just buy plain Brewer's Yeast in a powder or tablet. Use 1/8 tsp of the powder twice a day, or 1/4 of a human tablet or 1/2 of a pet tablet twice daily. Brewers yeast contains chromium which is the glucose tolerance factor which helps to regulate insulin and glucose levels. These dietary suggestions will not CURE the pet, nor stop the cancer from growing, but they may alleviate some of the signs and prolong the amount of time the pet is off other medication. Get her to a vet...and good luck Susan Brown, D.V.M. [Posted in FML issue 0772]