From:
"ferretlove"
Date: 2009-06-23 14:30:33 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] How to wean a ferret off pred?
To: "FHL" <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
[Moderator's Note:
combining two sequential posts,
BUT paraphrasing from a quote because
the author of the long quote never sent
permission to the moderators.
Uli is in the UK but says that her
friend is in Florida.]
I'm writing about my friend's ferret Willie again. In April and May he had
2 blood glucose tests done, by 2 different vets, which were at 40 and 42
mg/dl. At the time of both of the tests, Willie hadn't been eating well and
the trips to the vets were stressful. The vet put him on 1 mg of
prednisolone twice a day straight away after the first BG test, Willie
weighed just under 1 kg then. I know this was way too high for a starting
dose and my friends knows that now, too.
Willie had a huge tumour in his ear which was removed yesterday, the vet
also did a BG check and this time it was 110 mg/dl. At this point Willie
was getting 1.5 mg of pred twice a day, his weight had gone up to 1.2 kg.
What is a likely scenario, can not eating (all day) and a stressful trip to
the vets cause low blood glucose? Or, once the ferret is on pred, can the
BG go up to a very healthy 110 mg/dl? My friend had been to 3 different
vets and this third vet removed the tumour and measured the BG again and
ruled out insulinoma. I just wanted to ask here for advise on whether
Willie could have insulinoma or not and what to do. If Willie is weaned off
pred, how should my friend do it? How many mg do you reduce it by and how
often, weekly, fortnightly?
I looked in the archives and couldn't find an answer.
Ulrike
[and]
More info/ questions, I'm copying this from my friend's email:
[paraphrase:
Willie had suffered heat stroke in the past and
a non-vet shelter is wondering if there may be
neurological damage.
Symptoms: limp, open mouth w gum showing, completely
unresponsive for a few minutes.
They are wondering about the origin of ataxia]
When my friend took Willie to the vets for the first time, it was about wax/
blood build-up in his ear (from the tumour starting to grow), at that point
Willie was healthy with no symptoms of low BG. He had the heat stroke
before this first vet visit, my friend stopped at a friend's house and
borrowed his friend's car with air con and carried on to the vets once
Willie was okay after being cooled down and getting water. But the BG was
not done that day, it was done on the second vet visit and the whole day was
stressful for Willie but that is a long story.
My friend lives in or near Miami.
Ulrike
----- Original Message -----
> What is a likely scenario, can not eating (all day) and a stressful trip
> to the vets cause low blood glucose? Or, once the ferret is on pred, can
> the BG go up to a very healthy 110 mg/dl?
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