Could my ferret just be lazy?

Question
My ferret is just over six months old and he is a love bug. But when he walks around he tends to drag his hind end on the ground. After being out of the cage for about an hour, we have to find him and he is usually sleeping under the couch or bed. We have a one year old ferret also, but she isn't lazy by all means. They have plenty of toys, they've been to the vets and they both have been deemed as incredibly healthy ferrets. They also have a huge ferret mansion. They are spoiled!! He just drags himself around quite a lot. This might sound weird to say, but maybe he just likes the feeling of the floor on his belly. I don't know. I just think he's lazier than the female. Is that what you would assume as well?

Answer
Hi Sarah,

Hind end weakness has many different causes ranging from anemia to heart problems. This is why I think its important that you call your vet and tell him about this behavior. In a lot of cases, this sort of problem is caused by insulinoma, which is a little like diabetes. The simple way to test this out is to put just a little tiny dab of honey on his gums and give him a couple minutes to see if he perks up at all and stops dragging his legs. If he does, that may mean that he does have insulinoma and you should get him into the vet to discuss treatment options.

How often does he drag his hind end? And when? Because my kids drag their back legs when they first wake up to stretch them out, but then they stop right away. Is it something like that? If it is, I wouldn't worry too much about that, but if it is a frequent behavior, he should be seen by your vet! Also, please only use the honey trick once or twice as it may cause some other problems within the ferret. You should just use it to establish a possible cause and if it helps (or doesn't help) you should see a vet as soon as you can!

I hope this helps, and if there's anything I can do, please let me know!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews