From:
mjanke@miamiferret.org
Date: 2003-07-12 02:48:06 UTC
Subject: RE: - Blood Glucose 26- signs of kidney failure??--can any of the vets respond too..
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <4731108.1057978086511.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Beasley's blood glucose readings were in the 20's at times and he was largely asymptomatic. My vet said he should be nearly dead, but there he was, acting relatively normal. My guess is that they adapt pretty well to these low readings when it reaches that level over a long period of time. That doesn't mean that level is OK, just an explanation why you're seeing such a low reading yet not seeing seizures.
Diazoxide (Proglycem) doesn't work well for all ferrets, although the amount you listed (.02) if not a typo, is a real small amount and would be a factor in his lack of response to it. If my math is right, that's only 1 mg of diazoxide. According to "Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents..." a starting dose of 5-10 mg/kg is recommended. That means at his weight, he should probably be getting at least 10-20 mg, not 1. Hopefully you meant to type 0.2 (ml), not .02, which would be 10 mg. Still, that wouldn't change the fact that it just doesn't work for all ferrets, no matter what the dose.
0.8 mg of pred is not a massive dose and you may want to talk to your vet about increasing it if the diazoxide dosage is correct but not helping at all.
Thankfully, I never had to deal with ADV, so I can't give you an authoritative answer to your question about that, but I believe there is always the chance he could contract it at an ADV positive shelter. It's my understanding that it's not as virulent as something like ECE, but without special precautions, there's probably still a risk, however small.
Mike
Author wrote:
> Bandit went to the vet the other day-for BG reading it was "26" in the office--I just don't understand...