Brother & Sister Ferrets

Question
i had 2 ferrets.. brother and sister.. both wer about 3 years old.. the male passed away from unknown causes and now im afraid the female mite do the same.. she has been eating and drinking normally but she has been loosing her balance alot.. she seems to b losing energy alot quicker then usual.. as she is walking she will fall over or just lay down.. i dont know wut to do.. do u think she culd hav something serious wrong with her??

Answer
Hi Kelly:

I'm so glad you wrote - sorry to hear you've had one ferret pass away and now his little sister is sick too. She definitely needs to see a vet as soon as possible; unfortunately, this isn't anything you can treat at home.  She could have something as easily treated as an ear infection or as deadly as insulinoma.  Either of these can cause balance problems.

Ear infections will make a ferret lean to one side and even fall over when they try to walk because it affects their sense of balance, which is regulated in their inner ears (just as in humans). Ear infections are quickly and effectively treated with antibiotics and/or ear drops. Ear infections can be caused by anything from a bacterial source to secondary infections from untreated mite infestations.

Insulinoma is almost always the result of feeding a ferret food or treats that have sugar in them. Insulinoma is (check food/treat labels & don't feed people food is the best prevention) treatable with medication that isn't even expensive, but the ferret MUST be diagnosed early or they can die quickly of this disease. So many ferret owners just don't realize how dangerous sugar is to ferrets, so we try at every opportunity to warn people and try to get the message out. *(P.S.&FYI: Since we're on the diet/snack topic, be sure NOT to give raisins as treats - studies have shown that as few as four raisins can kill a healthy ferret. Raisins cause kidneys to shut down.) I hope and pray that's not what is wrong with your little girl, but just in case it is, she really needs to be seen by a vet soon - like "hours" or "next day", not "days" or a "week"...so do please act on this quickly and don't delay?

From now until you do get her to the vet, pay close attention to her and if you notice her staring off and/or drooling, leaning over to one side, and being kind of 'out of it', try this: Put a tiny bit of honey or pancake syrup on your finger and gently edge it down along the bottom of her gums between her teeth and lips...just a tiny bit - not enough for her to choke on, because IF she does have insulinoma, she could go unconscious at any time and choke on anything in her mouth. She will absorb the sugar through the skin on her gums.

If you do give her the honey/syrup treatment and it does perk her up a bit, that's a pretty good indicator that she *probably* has insulinoma (*which means she needs to get to a vet IMMEDIATELY to get medication so you don't lose her to seizures).  HOWEVER, you MUST follow this 'sweet' treatment with a pure protein meal such as warmed baby food meat thinned a bit with warm water to make it easier to swallow. Most ferrets won't eat new foods without a lot of struggling, so it may take some work getting it down her, but she should have close to half a jar of baby food meat.  The reason for this is that the 'sugar treatment' you did raised her blood sugar level, so that will cause the blood sugar level to go even lower as her body uses up the energy in the honey/syrup you've given her.  You can give either chicken or turkey baby food meat OR you can get Hill's A/D feline canned prescription diet at almost any vet's office. Scoop out a tablespoon or so, add a tablespoon or so of water, warm in the microwave for 15 seconds or so, warm enough to mix the water and meat into a nice gravy consistency; not hot enough to burn her mouth - use your finger to stir to make sure it's not too hot in the middle. Be sure to cover the can with any unused food and store in the refrigerator and it should last about 2 days.

One other item in passing - it would be a good idea to pay extra attention to your little girl for a while. She no doubt is used to being with her brother, probably for her whole life. Often when ferrets are caged together and one passes away, the other will mourn and even stop eating and drinking because they lose the will to live. It's really important that you give her lots of extra attention, let her do things with you that she didn't do before. I had two ferrets until last July when my little girl died. Since then I've let my little male have full run of my bedroom (after very carefully ferretproofing the whole bedroom. His little bed is right next to the head of my bed, but he has a blankie next to my pillow. He likes to sleep under the blanket on my feet tho :-). I have four litterboxes in my room and he hasn't pooped on the carpet once. I fixed my closet door so he cannot open it, so I don't have to worry about him chewing up shoe insoles and getting an intestinal blockage.Remember that ferrets go places like under furniture you haven't moved for years, etc - so you do have to be very very very careful if you decide to do this. The room must be immaculately clean, no clutter so you can be sure she doesn't get ahold of anything that would be deadly to her...and that's a LOT of things. Here are a few links on ferretproofing, just in case you need a little brush-up:

http://www.ferretcentral.org/faq/part2.html#ferretproofing
http://groups.msn.com/Ferret/yourwebpage10.msnw
http://groups.msn.com/Ferret/ferretproofing2.msnw

I also got him a new (for one ferret) "bye bye" mesh bag so he can go almost everywhere with me. As long as the temperature outside is below 80-degrees and I keep him with me, offer him food and water regularly, remember that he is tiny and needs me to 'baby' him, he LOVES to go and it has opened up a whole new world for him. He did sulk for a while and seemed sad, but this new world of freedom has made him quite the happy little guy!  It takes a LOT of preparation, both in the car and in the house (keep a travel cage in the car w/litterbox & food, carry FRESH WATER each time), but has been very very well worth it.

I trust that you are well read about ferrets and know the things that can be deadly to ferrets. Having ferrets is so very different than any other pet. Just in case you need some information about ferrets to brush up on, the book FERRETS FOR DUMMIES by Kim Schilling is excellent and can be obtained pretty cheaply on half.com.  There is also some great information on these websites:

http://www.ferretcentral.org
http://www.ferretuniverse.com
http://www.craftycreatures.com/forferretsonly/ferret_school/ferretschool_aboutfe...

Here is a website where you might want to memorialize your little guy. All my kids are memorialized there. There is no cost, it's open to everyone. There's a chat room there for folks who are mourning beloved pets - don't hesitate to drop in and share - it often helps to know we aren't alone in times like this.  There is also a Monday Evening Candle Lighting Ceremony that you can take part in. People all over the world all get together and send good thoughts - pray - whatever your particular beliefs are - for those sweet babies that have passed over the Rainbow Bridge and are no longer with us. It's just a nice thing to do and it does help the pain just a bit. The website is here: http://www.petloss.com    Please know that you are not alone. There are ferret owners everywhere who know the pain of losing our babies. That is one universal pain we will all have to endure as long as we have these precious little ones in our care. Thank heavens we have this website to comfort us and to remember them in those times we miss them most.

Please give that sweet little girl a hug and do be sure to get her to the vet AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers