Ferret drunkeness and sudden aggression

Question
QUESTION: I've had a wonderfully docile ferret jill for the past year or so, recently she
went in to the vet with stomach issues. She had swallowed some thin plastic
that had come off the bottom of a her ferret hammock. Thankfully she passed
that with a visit to the vet and some medication and re-hydration,    Right now
she's still on the medication, and the hand feeding that we've been doing.

This morning she started acting as if drunk, with virtually no coordination,
and a sudden spurt of aggression. We had her out briefly with her cage-mate
just to reassure him that she was ok, and she just lashed out and tried to
scruff him in a very violent way. She's usually the lower ranked woozle in the
chain of order of the cage. She's always been submissive and not really
seemed to care about anything otherwise.  Really she was downright
aggressive. When we separated them she then went after us, something that is
completely out of character for her.   She's awake and coherent of us, but acts
as if drunk. We thought about rabies, but she's an indoor critter so we're really
at a loss for what is going on with her.

Any ideas?

ANSWER: Hi Brad:

You didn't say if the vet has her on any pain meds or why you are still hand feeding.  Drunkeness usually indicates low blood sugar in ferrets.  To help her you would put some honey or syrup on her gums or let her lick it and see if that helps her. If it does, you will need to follow up with a high protein meal to stabilize her blood glucose level, then get in touch with your vet right away for medication for her. Here is some information on insulinoma, another way of saying low blood glucose drunken-like episodes as you are describing:

INSULINOMA:
* Recognizing Insulinoma & emergency treatment
* Insulinoma Info:   http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=11&cat=1286&articleid=550
* Insulinoma EMERGENCY TREATMENT:  http://miamiferret.org/fhc/insulinoma.htm
* Drug Treatments for Insulinoma: http://miamiferret.org/fhc/prednisone.htm
* Insulinoma FAQ @ Ferret Central:  http://www.ferretcentral.org/faq/med/insulin.html
* IMPORTANT FOR INSULINOMA: CHECK BLOOD SUGAR: MONITOR GLUCOSE LEVELS:   
  http://www.unc.edu/~pjdutche/bloodsugar/

The other thing that might be happenig here is just that her pain is not controlled. Did she have her blockage surgically removed?  If she is feeling sick or in pain, that could cause her to lash out aggressively.  

I strongly recommend you keep her housed separately until she is feeling better. Continue feedings, assuming that she will let you handle her.  If she continues with the aggression, call your vet and let him know what is going on - something else is going on that has not yet been discovered I think - she is acting like she is frantic in pain; very unusual for a ferret, so she needs vet assistance as soon as possible. This isn't something you can handle at home if she is aggressive still.  I know you love her, but maybe she needs another day at the vet's hospital to feel well enough to come home.

Best of luck.  Please write again and let me know how she is in a couple days?  I know how these little ones worry you to death. My thoughts and prayers are with you and with her. Hang in there - let me know how it goes and if I can help.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: There were no pain meds involved as she passed the blockage on her own without surgery, she was on some antibiotics that
of amoxicilian of some variety. As to why we were hand feeding, was because she was not eating on her own at the time.
Which was our initial concern and why we took her in in the first place. (sudden weight loss, not eating, vomiting, wasting)    
After her first visit they got some of the blockage out, and on the next day's visit we she was able to pass the rest of the
blockage. She was home and on the road to full recovery for just a day.

Thursday: took her to the vet early that morning, stayed all day. Had X-rays performed to see what was going on inside.
Instructions were set to hand feed and medicate her till things improved. (high protein ferret revovery diet soft food) Feed
every 3 hours.
Friday:  Took her back in to check if things were better, another X-ray visit, and a confirmation that the blockage had
passed. Still hand feeding every three hours. Went home healthy, and she went straight to bed and slept.
Saturday looking healthy, but she seemingly hadn't slept since the day before. Every time we checked in on her, she was
awake. We continued to hand feed and keep her happy. Saturday night late: (we work graveyard, so we one of us kept watch
instead of going to work) She started to act strange, not herself, almost drunk.
Sunday, extremely early 2am. She was outright looking drunk and tipsy, showing aggression and was totally out of character
for our little usually submissive jill. She had not slept since Friday night.

Sunday morning 8AM:
Our little ferret girl went from bad to worse in a very rapid amount of time, within a few hours of sending this initial question,
she had spiraled out of control, going from drunken stupor to something I've seen of older ferrets ready to die. They arc their
head back to touch their spine, she then started to have sudden breathing difficulty.   Being a sunday, no vet in the area was
open. The vet we work with takes payments, and since we had already tapped out our finances for the month (and then
some) with the previous vet visits we were limited to our very little cash on hand.   She was dying and we could do very little.
The one emergency clinic in the area accepted what little cash we had, and were able to put her down humanely.

We appreciate the response you gave us unfortunately it was already too late.  We've learned so much over the past few days  
So far, we're dealing ok, We still have Loki, the cage mate of Storm and we've been loving on him alot more since Storms
passing.   With ferrets, its always good to have them in pairs, as a single ferret is a lonely critter, We'll likely get another
ferret
in the near future as a cage-mate for him as he's not dealing with the loss very well. Her cage-mate is just curious as to
where she's gotten off to. He has searched both enclosures top to bottom and occasionally hisses his frustrations at us. Its
understandable as they were very good friends. I do feel sorry for him.

Thank you again for your time and efforts here.

Brad

Answer
Dear Brad:

I'm so very sorry - my heart breaks that you had to witness the scene you did. Thank God you were able to get her put to sleep humanely. I had a similar situation and couldn't get to help quick enough (it was all over in five minutes) and it was very very traumatic to have to live with afterwards. I shall never forget the horrible event! Just remember that not all deaths are this way, okay? Some are very peaceful. Your little girl must have still had some blockage inside her to have had this happen.

Do remember that Loki is missing her more than you are and remember to take him With you when you choose that new cagemate for him.

I'm so very sorry - my heart is broken. Please accept my sincerest condolences. You guys did everything you possibly could - know that and be content in your heart.  God bless.

your sad friend,

jacquie rodgers