Insulinoma?

Question
Hello; my 3 year old ferret, Franklin, appears to be very sick.  Over the time period of about one week, he lost an alarming amount of weight, stopped eating, and was very lethargic, breathing in quick shallow breaths.  I took him to a vet who sampled his blood, found very low levels of glucose, and told me it could be pancreatic cancer but did not seem knowledgable on the subject and had no advice for me.  I am now waiting for lab test returns on his insulin levels to confirm it but Franklin has now developed new symptoms.  I started feeding him Gerber baby food mixed with his kibble and he has gained a considerable amount of weight again in the last couple days, is taking very normal poops, and is now voracious and much more active.  But now he has this persistant hacking, squeaking cough after he eats and he seems to struggle to breathe and still gets tired easily.  I am taking him to another more specialized vet tomorrow to get a second opinion, but while I am wringing my hands until then, is there anything you can tell me?  I would really appreciate it!  I have been all over the internet but it appears ferrets have few general symptoms that could mean many things.

Answer
Hi Cristel:

I'm so sorry to hear that Franklin has been having such a hard time.  I'm really happy to hear that you are going to get him to a proper vet who works with ferrets. Unfortunately, most vets just don't know about ferrets, as it is a specialized area of veterinary medicine.

It sounds to me that Franklin may actually have some blood sugar problems, as the first vet has suggested. The best thing you can do for him until you get him to a proper vet is to feed him every couple hours so his blood sugar doesn't vary much.  

IF you should happen to find him laying weak, very sick and lifeless, he probably has a very low blood sugar reading.  This can kill him if you don't get it raised quickly.  The best way to raise blood sugar quickly is to gently rub some honey or even syrup on his gums. It will absorb thru the skin inside his mouth and gums (be careful not to expect him to swallow anything if he is unconscious - putting a large amount of anything in his mouth while he is unconscious could choke him).  You will need to act quickly, and it may be a good idea if the whole family knows what to watch for and you keep the honey or syrup next to the cage.  

AVOID giving him anything with sugar in it unless he is in a blood sugar crisis (as described above).  To give him anything sweet would make his blood sugar spike up...then it will fall quickly and he could lose consciousness.  If you ONLY give him the warm baby food meat every few hours, this will keep his blood sugar as level as possible and hopefully avoid a crisis.  He will need to be fed every couple of hours tho, even if it's just a small amount.

The hacking cough you are describing almost sounds as if he has a bit of a hairball blockage.  Be sure to mention this to the vet you take him to tomorrow.  The vet may want to do a barium xray to see if there is a hairball or other blockage that needs attention.  Both problems can be remedied in the same surgery if you make sure to mention it to the vet.

Best of luck - I hope Franklin does really well and gets strong and healthy soon.  I am going to put a list of vets that other ferret owners have recommended below. You might want to check and see if the vet you are planning to see is on this list - if not, you MAY want to try to get him in to one of these....of course all exotics vets aren't on our list, but many are.  As long as the vet you are going to "specializes in exotics" you will probably be just fine. Here are the lists just in case - listed by state, then city:

VETS CANADA:   
* http://www.ferretrescue.ca/start.php
* http://tinylink.com/?TlVyYKa6e0
* http://www.ferrets.org/Veterinarian_Listings.htm   (British Columbia)
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html

VETS USA:
* http://www.quincyweb.net/quincy/vet.html
* http://ferrethealth.org/vets/
* http://www.ferret-universe.com/vets/vetlist.asp
* http://www.ferretsanctuary.com/vets.shtml
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html
* http://ferrethealth.org/vets/

VETS  UK & IRELAND:  
* http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ferreter/vetlist.htm

VET INFO/ LIST OF FERRET GROUPS/ CONTACTS IN UK, ITALY, NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA, NETHERLANDS, GERMANY & DENMARK:       
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-overseas.html (scroll down page to find the one you are looking for)

VET TO VET HELP: (procedure videos & phone consultations)
* http://www.westendanimal.com   Dr. Deborrah Kemmerer *order medical procedure videos (vets)
* http://www.bradleyhills.com   Dr. Charles Weiss - *does vet to vet telephone consultations for a fee*
* http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html   Dr. Bruce Williams *pathology only* http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
* http://www.lbah.com/404.html      Long Beach Animal Hospital

Please update me after Franklin sees the vet. I'd like to know that he's going to be okay. My thoughts and prayers are with him and with you....

sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers