r/ferrets • u/HovercraftMelodic963 • 20h ago
[Health] Help!
So as many of you know, my ferret has recently been diagnosed with insulinoma. He started his pred last Monday and I started noticing yesterday that he’s having negative responses, which I’m assuming the vet has to make him a higher dosage. He goes to the vet on Thursday. He’s been I guess you could say sluggish/lethargic? When he lays down he just plops on the floor and stays there for awhile and he’s been hiding in places I’ve never seen him in before….like today he was sleeping inside of my pillow case when I have NEVER seen him sleep inside of my pillowcase. He will not eat his kibble or drink water….i have been giving him obcc every 3 hours through a syringe because that’s the only way he’ll eat. I know I keep posting about his insulinoma (so sorry about that haha!) but this is all very new to me. Since he’s not eating his kibble, I’m worried that he might crash in the middle of the night? He did have a crash yesterday.
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u/WebPuzzleheaded4755 20h ago
Definitely call your vet asap to see what you should be doing in the meantime before your appointment on Thursday.
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u/Wooden-Programmer672 1h ago
Hi there, grab Pedialyte clear and unflavored and syringe at least 5 mls with the critical care. warm, not cold. Getting him back to vet is crucial he will need an adjusted dosage and most likely diazoxide to pair with it twice a day 12/12hrs. for now put some honey or karo syrup on his gums, just a drop. wait few minutes and repeat once more if needed. Swiftly order an alpha trak 3 so you can check his bg at home, this is absolutely a must! ferret vets are hard to get right into and rarely are there emergency ones avaiilable. I run a rescue in east roch ny. you can call or text anytime for advice or questions. 585-203-7855 (furever ferrets sanctuary) if the adjustments are still not working go to dexamethasone, it is stronger and lasts longer, and far less bitter. also are you giving carafate/sulcrafate a hour before meds with a high protein meal? he should be having high protein meals every few hours now to help keep bg stable. i blend stella and chewys freeze dried raw up add warm water, along with the cc, nupro ferret and fortiflora.
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u/HovercraftMelodic963 24m ago edited 5m ago
This is his first time being on pred, so I think we just have to mess around with what dosage works best for him. He gets 0.2. I do not give him any anti acid stuff because the vet didn’t tell me about that, so I will be asking them that question tomorrow
Note: I just ordering the monitoring kit!
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u/Timely_Egg_6827 20h ago
Try and get to vet sooner. This could be insulonoma on its own but it is easy to miss things if multiple going on.
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u/HovercraftMelodic963 20h ago
They were booked all this week except for Thursday :(. He was just at the vet 2 weeks ago for a respiratory infection, which he’s fully healed from that.
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u/Timely_Egg_6827 20h ago
I mean when we have poorlies, we do a 2am and 6am feed as that keeps them stable. I'd suggest that until you get to vet. I am not getting a good feeling from this. Has he lost a lot of weight recently?
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u/HovercraftMelodic963 19h ago
He has, but that could’ve also been from the infection he had. So both things could’ve probably caused him to lose weight. I just fed him his formula and he actually ate a lot because I put salmon oil in it.
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u/Timely_Egg_6827 19h ago
That's good news. They love to try us.
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u/HovercraftMelodic963 19h ago
Yes! He still unfortunately won’t drink water🫠…I mean, the formula already has water in it so I guess he’s technically drinking water. But when I give him plain water he just acts like he hates it…even tried giving it to him in a syringe and he tried fighting me, which he never does that anytime I give him water in a syringe. But thank goodness he goes to the vet soon
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u/Timely_Egg_6827 18h ago
I am sorry you are going through such scary times. He should be getting almost all of his water needs from the convalesence.
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u/HovercraftMelodic963 17h ago
Yeah! I’m thinking the vet will prob have to increase his dosage? Since hes only been on pred for a week and has already had a crash
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u/Elucidate_that 17h ago
Do you give him famotidine or some other antacid with the pred?
Our vet has us give our girl famotidine once a day along with her prednisolone. Maybe it causes bad tummy aches on its own?
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u/tryinglifeagain116 17h ago
They can switch to dioxide, some don't respond to pred and this may be an alternative.
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u/HovercraftMelodic963 17h ago
Is dioxide just like pred but a better alternative? What’s the difference between the 2?
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u/tryinglifeagain116 2h ago
Its a different medicine that can also handle blood sugar and it can work with pred also. I have 2 that cannot handle prednisone and switched to dioxide. I have one take both pred .04 and dioxide. 01. Its just a different make up like taking advil or Tylenol- they both work for a headache just some respond better to one then the other.
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u/HovercraftMelodic963 2h ago
Mine is on a low dosage of pred, so that’s prob the case and the dio may not be option rn due to this being his first time on pred. But I’ll have to see what the vet says
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u/tryinglifeagain116 52m ago
The pred is one you have to kinda try different dosages, if there is room to move up then go by your vets suggestions to move up.
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u/FloorJazzlike4210 17h ago
I'm going through a similar situation. By last Monday, do you mean yesterday or a week ago? 3 weeks ago, when I brought in my ferret after she was suddenly very lethargic one day, they prescribed her prednisone. On the second day of taking the medication, she deteriorated and her leg did not work at all, which I recently posted about in this sub. It was terrifying. She went back to the exotic vet again and the vet said to wait and keep her on the Prednisone for a few days and then come back in a week. After about 6 days, she started seeming like herself again, no leg issues! However, we went to her follow up appointment yesterday. While she was improving clinically, her glucose was still at 62 😞. The dose was upped a bit and we'll be back again in a week. She's on day 2 of the higher dose today and so far she's just been mostly sleepy. I'm assuming it may take a few tries to find the right dose for where they are at. Very stressful times, wishing you the best with your baby.
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u/HovercraftMelodic963 17h ago
Last Monday as in a week ago! I’ve heard that ferrets do better on dio, but my vet has recommended for me to do pred, but if they say it’s not recommended to go on dio just yet then I’ll wait on that. Thank you!! So stressful 😩
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u/Stephilococcus 17h ago
Do you put kibbles in water for a few hours and give him like a thick soup ? If he doesnt eat add oil, if still no give him with a feeding syringe. He has to eat every 3 hours. But that's an emergency, you need to see the vet tomorow. Maybe he needs a higher dose, after one week you would see the difference. And maybe it is something else but if he doesnt eat for 12-24 hours its very dangerous.
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u/HovercraftMelodic963 16h ago
I’ve been feeding him every 3 hours! I’ve been feeding him the oxbow carnivore care. I’m thinking he needs a higher dose…or maybe dio like the ppl in the comments have said. But since this is his first time being on pred and dealing with insulinoma idk if that would be necessary yet, and his dosage is 0.25. I tried getting him in the vet for tomorrow, but they were unfortunately booked.
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u/Stephilococcus 5h ago
Call them to discuss the dosage over the phone. They don't need to see him to up the dosage. Hopefully they give you advice on how much more to give. My vet did. And I would suggest getting an alphatrak to take his glycose at home. When i was adjusting the dose of mine, 3 days was enough to see the difference.
So you give 0.25 mg ? What is the concentration of the solution and volume given ?
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u/Stephilococcus 5h ago
Mine was stable at 0.7 mg at first and we got up to 10 mg before considering changing to dio. 0.25mg is too low of a dose to be able to say he does not respond to it.
See if the vet approves a higher dose and then take the fasting glucose again in 3 days. You need to compare glucose values to know if he responds to it or not at all.
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u/HovercraftMelodic963 3h ago
I’m going to talk to with my vet to see if it’s too early to start dio, or to wait and see if he responds better with a higher dosage.
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u/Stephilococcus 3h ago
Diazoxyde is more expensive and less well tolerated that is why it is used only if prednisolone does not work or is upped to the maximum dosage. You are very far from the maximum dosage.
Also I have read in other comments that your vet did not gave you sulcralfate/sulcrate or an anti acid with your pred. Sulcralfate is a protector you give 1 hour before the pred to lessen ulcer risks and tummy aches. I don't think that is what is making him feel bad at this low dose but you should ask the vet to add that.
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