QUESTION:
I am concerned about our ferret. We have had Roscoe for four years. The past week he has had runny stools. Today I noticed he was stretched out in his cage-odd for him, he usually sleeps curled up. I got him out and he was sort of limp. He usually is hyper and loves to play. He let me cuddle him for a long time-he never stays that still for that long. He is just lying around. He is also shaking-like when you are cold, shivering. And he feels like he has lost a little bit of weight. And when he starts off to walk he sort of drags the back side for a second and then begins to walk normal. What could be wrong with him? Where we live, we have 2 vets-who are not that great and not familiar with ferrets.

ANSWER:
What you are describing sounds as if Roscoe has hypoglycemia (low blood glucose). He was probably having a seizure when you found him limp, whenever he does that rub a little KARO syrup, or HONEY into his gums. It will bring the sugar level up right away. however you will need to follow up immediately with some high MEAT protein as in GERBERS CHICKEN BABYFOOD (blue label). Go out and buy asap, start giving him 3-4 teaspoonful with 1 teaspoonful of water, warm it a little. You can give this 3-4 times a day until you see your vet.

Your vet will need to test Roscoe's blood sugar on a glucometer and then possibly prescribe Prednisone. Once you have established that this is the problem, you will need to give the baby food every time you medicate and also in between until he is regulated and put on his weight again. He most likely has been having seizures that you have not seen, this is because his blood sugar gets so low he cannot get up to eat and unfortunately the sugar drops even more and he starts to seizure. PLEASE make sure you start the meat baby food asap as it will help until you see your vet.

Please go to: www.miamiferret.org Click on INSULINOMA and read all about the symptoms and treatments, also copy the info and take it to your vet.

QUESTION:
I have this ferret and I've had him for about four years. He's about five now and his name is Dinky. He's always been very energetic but a few days ago, when he woke up from a nap, I noticed a change in him. He wasn't very hyper, and he laid on my mom's lap, which he never did before. He just laid there. After getting something to eat, he was moving around better again. Then, the last couple of days, he's been less-energetic again. All he seems to do is lay around. When he wakes up, he comes out and he won't make it very far before he lays down again. I'm really worried about him. He's never acted this way before. Do you know what might be wrong with him?

ANSWER:
I have a good idea what is wrong with him but you will need to take him to a ferret knowledgeable vet, do you know a good vet where you live? It sounds as if he has hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) that is why when he eats he feels better, it brings his blood sugar up! Is he eating as much of his food as usual.

Until you get him to a vet, you need to buy him GERBERS (blue label) CHICKEN or TURKEY BABYFOOD, give him 4-5 teaspoonful mixed with 1 teaspoon of water and warm a little first. Let him lick it from your finger and then when he gets used to it, he should lap it up from a shallow bowl. If he will not eat it at first, then put it in an eye dropper and dribble it over his teeth, let me know if you need help. You will need to give him this twice a day, do not take away his regular food, he will eat that when he is hungry.

The BABY FOOD is very high in protein and will bring his blood sugar up and keep it up, so he will feel a whole lot better. Once you get a vet then he can check his blood sugar and if it is low he will prescribe medicine for him and you will give it along with the babyfood.Next time you see him really lethargic or just staring into space, then rub a little Karo syrup into his gums, that will help him and then follow that with some chicken baby food. Please let me know if you need help finding a vet.

QUESTION:
I have a ferret that just turned 3 in June and was diagnosed with insulinoma. I live in Washington and was wondering if you knew of a vet that would be good with the surgery for my baby. Or maybe info where I could find something. I am in desperate need. Boo Bear needs help.

ANSWER:
Insulinoma is very common in ferrets, I had 40 ferrets at any given time with it, when I ran the shelter in Miami. I am not an advocate for surgery, but believe they do much better on a supplemental diet, plus when needed prednisone.

To start with, feed your ferret twice a day 4-5 teaspoonfuls of GERBER'S CHICKEN/TURKEY BABYFOOD, this will help level off the blood glucose, as it is high in meat protein. It is easily digested and assimilated by the body and will help to keep the ferret stable.

When was the last time you had the Boo bear's blood checked, do you have him on prednisone already? The reason I do not do surgery on my ferret is the problem of finding the tumors!

Even if the vet is able to remove large enough tumors that he can see, there are often times millions of microscopic ones he cannot see and therefore in most cases the symptoms recur and it will be necessary to give pred. and feed the supplemental diet, which btw doing so, my ferrets live 4-5 years after diagnosing.

To find more info go to: www.miamiferret.org Go to the 'health section' and also you might want to check shelters in your area (who could recommend a good vet) by going to STAR on the same website. Also you can write to: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com

You can ask for a recommendation for a vet in your area, plus if you go to their website you will be able to search their archives for more info on insulinoma: www.ferrethealth@smartgroups.com