From:
Bruce Williams, DVM
Date: 2001-05-03 14:33:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Ringo's insulinoma
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "Diana Ashton" <pooh1999@g...> wrote:
> I posted yesterday but I think that the post got lost so here goes
again.
>
> I have an 8 year old male that was released to me about a year ago.
About 4 months ago he developed an insulinoma or at least began
exhibiting noticable symptons. He is not a good surgical candidate so
we have him on Pred. He is up to 1ml twice a day. He still sleeps
alot. He developed diarrhea about 2 weeks ago, so bad that he cannot
make it from his sleeping box to the litter box only 12 inches away.
I stated him on childrens kaopectate and he is getting 1ml 3-4 times
a day. It is having little to no effect. Every now and then there is
a semi formed stool but not often. Is there something else that I can
try to help him alleviate this? For those with ideas, please let me
know quickly as I have to leave town on Friday morning early and will
be gone most of the wekend. My significant other will have animal
duty, so all should go well.
Dear Diana:
Kaopectate really has little effect on diarrhea in ferrets. It is
based on an outdated notion that this drug absorbs bacterial toxins.
Unfortunately, without having any idea of the cause of the diarrhea,
it is difficult to prescribe a drug or combination of drugs which
would help.
In such cases, with minimal information, I generally recommend the
use of a bland, highly digestible diet, a close eye on hydration,
submission of multiple fecal samples to rule out parasites, and a
vist to the vet. A careful clinical exam may help rule in or out
possible causes. Bloodwork is not often of great assistance in older
ferrets with diarrhea and probably should not be required at the
first visit.
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
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