Suddenly Lethargic & Unsteady on Feet

Question
My ferret is about 4 months old and was acting perfectly normal until this afternoon, he is very lathargic he rolled from the top of his cage to the bottom and didn't even move I got him out of his cage and put him on the ground and he got up and started running sideways and running into things. I fed him some ferret treats this morning and he was eating fine and drinking he seems to to be acting a little more normal but is very tired and just wants to sleep, its the weekend and the only vet that is open is an hour away. I am so worried and am wondering what I should do?

Answer
Hi Lindsey:

It's Sunday evening and I've just now gotten this message. I certainly hope you were able to get your little guy to a vet before now.  It's hard to say what could have made him so horribly lethargic, unsteady on his feet and appearing weak so quickly. If I had to guess, I would think possible he got ahold of something poison? Could he have been injured by falling? Or the treats he ate - were they sugary?  He could be having a low blood sugar problem.  OR, did he eat anything with raisins in it? Even though people used to give ferrets tiny bits of raisins for a treat, it has been found that as few as five small raisins can KILL an otherwise healthy young ferret.

If there's any possibility it may be a blood sugar problem, put some honey or syrup on your finger and gently rub it along his gumline and underneath his tongue. It will absorb quickest there and get into his bloodstream. IF it's low blood sugar, that should perk him up within a few minutes - THEN you MUST follow with a high protein  meal, such as hi-protein premium ferret-specific kibble like Totally Ferret, some Hill's A/D, some Uncle Jim's Original Duk Soup Mix, some baby food chicken or turkey warmed and fed by finger to him, or even a hard boiled egg. Just be SURE he eats a nice big hi-protein meal so his blood sugar doesn't fall dangerously low again.  

IF putting syrup/honey on the gums brings the ferret around - it will mean the ferrret DOES have blood glucose problems. You will need to restrict ALL sweets from the ferret in the future - READ LABELS and make sure any treats are sugar free. Ferrets are obligate carnivores and should eat ONLY MEAT (light meat, dark meat, organ meats, etc) - NO fruits, vegetables or carbohydrates.  Especially a ferret with a blood glucose problem, it is especially important to keep carbs in check and feed MEAT.  Hill's A/D <canned> or even Hill's I/D are excellent (A/D is best to put weight on, but too high in fat to stay on permanently; Hill's I/D <canned> is healthier for a longer term daily food).

I hope and pray you got your little guy to some medical help in time today.  From what you described to me, he definitely needed vet help immediately and I just really hope you didn't delay and that you did get there in time to help him. Unfortunately even if I had gotten this message in a more timely manner, there isn't much I could have done other than recommend the blood sugar treatment above. There are SO many other things it could be!  Things like this are always very worrisome and I feel so sorry you've had to go thru this. I just hope and pray you went to the vet that was an hour away - and that you made it in time. If you would please update me, I would be very interested to know what the vet did find as being wrong with him.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers