From: Lynn McIntosh [faiml@uswest.net] Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2000 2:40 AM To: FAIMLanon; FAIML Cc: faiml@miamiferret.org Subject: FAIML #372; Jan. 6, 2000 Ferret Adrenal/Insulinoma Mailing List (FAIML) #372; Jan. 6, 2000 1. blending diazoxide post 2. Why would a ferret chew on cloth? 3. Vaccine reaction!!! 4. Distemper results on Patch 5. Winnie and hiccups The FERRET ADRENAL/INSULINOMA MAILING LIST (FAIML) is a group that's come together to share support and information about adrenal and insulinoma diseases. FAIML comes out in digest format three to six times per week, depending on the number of posts sent, and their surgency. FAIML information is the opinion, only, of subscribers, mostly ferret caretakers. It is not medical advice, comes with no guarantee of accuracy, and is not meant to replace the examination and medical oversight of a qualified veterinarian. If your ferret is sick or exhibiting signs of illness take your fur kid to the most ferret- experienced vet you can find! A ferret- experienced vet is one of the most important services you can provide to your ferret. TO POST: Write POST at the end of your subject heading (the more specific you can be in your subject heading, the better) and send to . URGENT POSTS: If you feel the message is urgent please mark it POST URGENT and I'll send it out to subscribers as soon as I can, then include the message in the next list. CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS: Please write POST ANONYMOUS after your subject heading if you don't want your address or last name published. SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE: Just use the one address for posts, subscription questions, requests, cancellations, comments, etc. The list is run by hand so just send me an email. ADRENAL/INSULINOMA WEBSITE: FAIML ARCHIVES/PHOTOS: Past FAIMLs are being archived, with a search feature, on Michael Janke's adrenal/insulinoma web site: . Michael is also kindly posting pictures of FAIML subscribers and the ferrets at this site in the FAIML Album. Check out his site for more info. PAM GREENE's FERRET FAQs: I suggest people read (and reread) Pamela Greene's Disease FAQ's on Insulin and Adrenal diseases, as they offer a good background. I forward them to all new subscribers, and will gladly send them upon request. I also send the "Disease Package", a file that tells how to get all six of Pamela Greene's FAQs on ferret diseases. Pam also has excellent FAQ's about general ferret care as well, and a link to these may be found on the FERRET CENTRAL web site: . THE FERRET MAILING LIST (FML): The FML has 3,000+ ferret-loving subscribers and the topic is simply ferrets, ferrets, and more ferrets. Moderated by Mr. Bill Gruber, it's a great source of ferret entertainment and information. Visit FERRET CENTRAL on the web (see paragraph above) for more info on the FML. To subscribe to the FML, send email to its moderator, Bill Gruber, at and ask to be added. You can also try subscribing automatically by sending email to with the command SUBSCRIBE FERRET in the body of the email. 1. blending diazoxide post From: "Mary Tremblay" Date sent: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 22:49:52 -0500 Rascal is insulinomic, we have two pharmacies we use for getting diazoxide. One uses an oil based suspension, the other something less dense. We are beginning to think the later although more expensive seems to make Rascal more active. Does anyone have similar experience? We are not sure of the more expense base, but dosage is less than oil base. Any similar experience or insight is appreciated. P.S. Daffy who we previously had inquired about with the "alien'" around his liver - passed peacefully to the other side of the Rainbow last Wednesday night 2. Why would a ferret chew on cloth? From: jkerin@attorneygeneral.gov Date sent: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 10:24:56 -0500 Hi, I've had twenty-one ferrets in the past six years, I presently have 14. I have never seen a ferret chew and eat cloth until this morning. I found Daisy sleeping where she normally does, in a cotton blanket. Except she wasn't sleeping, she was chewing and eating (at least I think because a little was missing) the blanket. Will this cause a blockage? Why would she do this? Daisy has had both adrenals removed but she still has the symptoms. She had a shot of four month depot Lupron on December 16th. She was also diagnosed with lymphoma, all her lymphnodes are swollen which enlarged her spleen to the point that it was hard for her to walk. She is also taking pediapred. Since the Lupron and the pediapred, she actually runs, chases the other ferrets and is up and around a lot more. I'm still hoping for fur. But I'm worried about this chewing, does anyone know? Joy 3. Vaccine reaction!!! From: "Emily Moon" Date sent: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 01:57:48 -0800 Hello everyone. I did go to the vet today. It looks like little Oliver's adrenal is doing well (concerned about no hair growth -- except tail -- since operation in Oct.). We didn't end up getting the Tennessee adrenal panel for Cleopatra, although we wanted to, because Bear had a BAD reaction to the vaccines. He got his rabies and distemper before the others (don't know brand name but solution was pink and vaccines were made just for ferrets). Ten minutes later he was vomiting and lost his bowels and everything. I got him out of the travel cage and he just hung in my arms and was moaning! The other vet took him and put him in another room. She gave him benadryl (?), a steroid, and fluids. I gave him another shot about an hour later, and another one before bed. Pooh Bear will be just fine.... I write this because I am angry. I think not enough is being done to help ferrets. There isn't much by way of good medicine, vaccines, vet knowledge, etc. No one has set any ferret "standards," so we keep seeing little ones with tattoos on their ears as sick as can be (you know where they're from). I go to big chain pet stores and see little ones that aren't old enough to eat solid food and have just learned to open their eyes and use their legs! If we have a list like this with people joining it from all over the world, we should make a NATIONAL Ferret Association. Ok, so maybe that's too big. We need to all start educating the people around us. We need to either join or start local ferret associations. We need to support shelters and NOT pet stores. We need to write letters to a "certain" company about their practices of taking kits away to be sold too soon, about spay/neutering too early, about their inability to provide documentation which shows the steps they take to prevent inbreeding; we need to be more vocal; we need to write to all the companies. I know all of you are VERY dedicated to the fuzzy cause, but, as we all know and can read, more needs to be done. My little Pooh Bear is not the only ferret that has reacted to a vaccine. I was disgusted and appalled that it happened. He is five and has never had any problems (except a cold). There is so much beyond this issue that needs to be addressed. I don't believe that I am necessarily airing my dirty laundry on this list, I just know that nothing will change any faster than it has if we don't all get moving. My two and a half cents. Pooh Bear: influenza, vaccine reaction, weight=2.9lbs, 4.5 yrs old ! Oliver: ECE, right adrenal, influenza, weight=1.4lbs, 4 yrs old ! Cleopatra: influenza, ear infections, signs of adrenal disease, weight=1.1lbs, 3 yrs old ! Puck: Newly adopted....about 3 lbs, no tattoos, 1 yr old Thought it may be interesting to see what they're like. I feed them an always-full dish of Totally Ferret, give them tons of vitamins and fur ball meds, raisins on occasion, and free reign of the house when we're home. Good luck to all of you an your kidz. Feel free to send me your thoughts. -Emily ferrets@nobleidea.com 4. Distemper results on Patch From: dagger4u@home.com Date sent: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 22:44:48 -0800 Hi there everyone. Just wanted to let you all know, the distempter titer came back on Patch. We were indeed surprised at the results. His titer is extremely high. Which sort of means he has distemper, although, he is fighting (and winning it) which I find quite odd. He has stopped the "gum chewing" behavior as well as the "running into things". He has actually been quite well the last 5 days that we have been waiting for these results. His stools look good, and his fasting glucose is normal right now. He seems to be back to baseline with one exception. His hind end is alittle gaunt. Not like when he was sick though. It seems also to be getting better. His appetite is good, he is running around with more and more energy every day. He loves to cuddle with me now though, which he did before, but not with so much fervor and I wonder if he likes this because it got him alot of attention when he was sick. So, my vet said I should watch him the next week. (he still thinks he is isolated and told me to keep him isolated for another week, however, Patch is with the others as I felt his depression was contributing to whatever he is sick from) If he continues to improve, he probably has fought distemper off. (the vet said the shots that he got alittle under 2 months ago has helped him fight this off) I'm not so sure of this whole thing. In fact, I am quite confused. I had always thought distemper was fatal. And in fact, all that I read about it, my ferret didn't have that many symptoms of it. The "neuro" symptoms he had (ie-running into things, etc) all happen at the end of distemper. And then at that point, they pretty much are really bad off, and die. My Patch on the other hand, has improved. He's not out of the woods yet, since I don't think he is all the way better, but I think he has a fighting chance, especially since he has improved so much. Any ideas from people would be helpful. Especially any vets that might be able to explain what a "high" titer could mean and if he really has distemper. All my other ferrets are up to date on shots and boosters, and all are doing well, so I am not too worried about him being with the others. And believe me when I say, I am watching everyone like a hawk. Thanks everyone!! Kim and her furry bunch > > Kim, > > I'm sorry to hear that Patch is so sick. I work for one of the top ferret > vets in my area as a vet tech, and we see a lot of the little fuzzbutts daily. > I can think of a couple things which might be the problem... > > The first thing I would suspect is insulinoma. A simple test can be run > called a blood glucose (this is different from a CBC or blood panel)...if you > ask for a glucose test, it can tell you if Patch is producing enough glucose > (sugar). Insulinoma can cause the disorientation (running into things), the > weight loss, even the diarreah...it can also cause the "lip smacking" and > abnormal chewing that he does. Insulinomas can be treated by surgery or drug > therapy, depending on the vet and the severity of the case. > > Cardiomyopathy can also cause some of the symptoms you describe, especially > the weakening of the hind end and the lethargy. To determine if Patch has > this, the vet will need to do an EKG or cardiac ultrasound. I'm assuming that > when the x-rays were taken, nothing was noticed as being abnormal about his > heart. Sometimes, if the cardiomyopathy is extreme, a vet will hear a murmur > or other problem on a physical exam, or the x-ray will show a slightly > enlarged heart. If neither of these things were noticed, it might be worth a > try to have an ultrasound or EKG done, just to rule it out. Unfortunately, > there is no real cure for cardiomyopathy. > > I don't think Patch is suffering from distemper...yes, it does take a while to > manifest itself, but if you've kept his vaccinations current (with no lapses > more than a month long), he should've been adequately protected. There is > always a chance, though, so it is good that you've already done the test. > > I am not a vet, but these are my best guesses as to what could be going wrong > with Patch. My best of luck to you both, and if you need anything else > whatsoever, please feel free to contact me. > > Jen Taylor > Legion of Superferrets of Iowa 5. Winnie and hiccups Date sent: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 19:28:43 EST From: KERTWR@aol.com RE AMY (WINNIE) MY OLDEST FUZZY 2 YRS OLD DOES GET THE HICCUPS OFTEN. NOT SEEN IN THE YOUNGER ONES....I WONDER IF IT IS NORMAL? I HAVE USED THE POWDERES YEAST AND MIX WITH FOOD, BUT I FORGOT HOW MUCH. KISSES FROM HEAVEN, KAREN ----------------------- End of FAIML #372 -------------------------