Message Number: SG3519 | New FHL Archives Search
From: kittrel@dog.com
Date: 2003-03-06 12:51:51 UTC
Subject: Distraught!
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <15211039.1046955111276.JavaMail.root@scandium>

Shar is my first ferret; we got her from a shelter in January. She's already squirmed her little way into our hearts in a big way!!!

We noticed yesterday that she hadn't eaten her breakfast... and she wasn't popping out of her hammock when we came into the room to say hello.

Took her to the vet: Her glucose level was 61. From what I've been reading here that's really bad!

I kinda phased out after that, I was a little shocked. I caught the part about surgery on her pancreas being a possibility. And right now we are giving her .5 of predinisone (?) 2x a day, plus Nutri-Cal whenever she looks dazed. Shar is supposedly only 2. The vet said since she was actually 'with it' with her sugar that low she has probably been dealing with this for quite some time and so had adjusted to it...

I'm not quite sure what to do, or what info to look up. Luckily our vet is pretty knowledgable about ferrets. She said she's done these surgeries before. But it's a lot of money (esp for one just out of college, working part-time due to health reasons), and I want to learn as much as I can before coming to a decision. I wrote the shelter asking for as much background info on Shar as they could provide. Can anyone here give me any other good sources of info? Share any stories of similar experiences?

I'm really worried about my little girl and I hate having to decide on such a big thing for her!