Insulinoma in Ferrets

Insulinoma is one of the most common neoplastic diseases affecting ferrets. It's caused by tumors in the pancreas which produce excess insulin.

Some of the symptoms to look out for are:

Staring into space

Seizures

Pawing at the mouth

Episodes of drooling

Occasional inactivity

Extreme weakness

Lethargy

Difficulty walking, especially in the rear limbs

Should the blood sugar drop very rapidly, it could cause tremors or seizures. In severe cases, the ferret could go into a coma due to lack of glucose in the brain.

If your ferret show signs of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), that is ... lying there limp and looking like it’s about to die (i.e. comatose) ... you MUST rub one of these on its gums IMMEDIATELY - either honey, Karo (corn) syrup, Nutrical or Nutrigel (for Aussie ferret owners).

Not all ferrets show any sign of insulinoma and to find your ferret lying in a coma is a really frightening experience.

It might take a while for the Nutrigel, or whatever you put on your ferret’s gums, to kick in but if you don’t do that, you can be assured that your ferret WILL slip off into a deep sleep and never wake up.

When we found Muis in that state, it was the most frightening thing I have ever experienced because it happened out of the blue and so quickly. I wrote about it in my blog and because it was so unexpected, I really freaked out and thought we were going to lose her.

It took about half-an-hour from the first rubbing of Nutrigel into her lips for her to open her eyes. That didn’t last long but it was such a hopeful sign. I put more Nutrigel on her gums and about half-an-hour after the second rubbing, she finally came to and looked “normal”!

I gave her a saucer full of smoothy and she ate that up very enthusiastically, so I topped that up and she licked that all up too.

After that she was completely herself and trotted down the corridor to join the rest of the gang in the chest of drawers. It really was incredible to see the difference – an hour ago she was at death’s door and then, after getting the Nutrigel on her gums, she managed to snap out of her coma and appeared perfectly normal!

When I took her to my vet, she said that if animals have a drop in their blood sugar when they are asleep, they go into this comatose state so it’s IMPERATIVE to rub something sweet on their gums.

Muis didn’t show any signs of insulinoma apart from one occasional a month earlier where she seemed unsteady but it lasted just a couple of minutes and then she was fine, without any help from Nutrigel.

I had taken her to my vet and voiced my concerns about insulinoma but the vet thought that it might have been an epileptic fit, so I was to keep an eye out for any more occurrences. But since that one time, nothing else happened to make me worry until this.

So, I cannot stress this enough. If you find your ferret lying like a limp, wet noodle with its eyes closed and breathing shallow, rapid breaths, grab one of the following - Karo, honey, Nutrical or Nutrigel – and rub a small blob on its gums ASAP and once it comes around, make sure it has something to eat (like the smoothy) to get it back to normal. Then get it to your vet as soon as you possibly can.

There are various options for a ferret with insulinoma but be aware that a ferret with insulinoma cannot be cured. The disease can be controlled and hopefully will give your pet a good quality of life for as long as possible.

The Miami Ferret site also has advice about what to do if your ferret suffers a seizure, as well as information on what to feed your ferret if he's got insulinoma, which is really helpful.

Dr Heidi Hoefler also has an article on insulinoma where she talks about the treatment, as well as giving some suggestions about the diet, and there are several articles written by vets in Ferret Central's Ferret Insulinoma FAQ.

There's also an article about hypoglycemia by Dr Judith Bell on the PetEducation website, and one called What Ferret Owners Should Know about Insulinomas, by Dr. Jeff Rhody, DVM, which gives a lot of information to anyone who suspects their ferret might have insulinoma.

A reader from Texas wrote about his experiences when he discovered his ferret had insulinoma. It's always good to have other people's firsthand experiences to help you if you find that your ferret has come down with the same disease.

For more, read Boe's Story.

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