Message Number: SG10892 | New FHL Archives Search
From: sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2004-09-30 18:17:21 UTC
Subject: RE: unknown illness/ old?PLEASE HELP URGENT
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <485056.1096568241093.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>

Just some insulinoma pointers:

Is the ferret getting Predenisone or Prednislone?

Some ferrets have trouble processing Prednisone due to the extra liver processing step so for them Prednisolone works better.

Some do even better on the injectible version.

In the past FHL posts you'll find at least one ferret who did better on a different steroid -- if my memory serves -- but that is rare.

What concentration is the med? The number we need to know how much med is the mg number. Also, how large is the ferret. We've actually had a small female (about a pound in weight) on as much as 5 mg per day.

The action of the Preds is about 9 hours so typical timing is two or three times per day.

Diazoxide helps some ferrets once Pred no longer is enough on its own. It is expensive so it would make sense to try a small trial run from a compounding pharmacist.

When other options are gone adding dietary sugar can give extra time to some ferrets; when ever lucky this can even be as long as a few extra months.