Message Number: YG12328 | New FHL Archives Search
From: daneedv@aol.com
Date: 2002-04-07 13:32:00 UTC
Subject: Re: questions!!

--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., Valerie Horan wrote:
>
> I have a couple of questions..Does anyone medicate there
ferrets with Children's Benedryl before getting a distemper
shot?

Next....I thought you where suppose to fast your ferret for
four hours before blood work is suppose to take place..

I pretreat my kids with Children's Benedryl about 15 minutes
before giving them Fervac. You can also have your vet
pretreat with indictable Benedryl, about 5 minutes before the
Fervac is given. When using the liquid Children's Benedryl, I
give about 1cc of the medicine.
When doing a blood test to check the blood glucose level, it
is generally recommended that you fast the ferret for 3 or 4
hours before the blood is drawn. This way, you know the
ferret hasn't just eaten, and therefore possibly has a false
high BG level. However, it is not a good idea to fast a
ferret for much longer periods. Therefore, when I am having
the BG level checked, I feed the ferret some chicken baby food
about 4 hours before the test, and then withhold food until
after the test. The chicken baby food is a high protein food,
which will release glucose into the blood stream slowly. You
can therefore get an accurate picture of the BG level, without
endangering the ferret by letting it go too long without food.
Danee