insulanoma

[bandit and cinnamon]

Hi my name is Brandon I'm a proud owner of 4 beautiful ferrets two I adopted from a mistreated home have iselinoma and I'm not sure the best diet to feed them one is doing really well on prednisone well the other is still not improven much and my vet is saying pred is only option but from what I read a good diet can give them an even better chance and I'm willing to spend whatever I have too to save his life so if anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it ..sincerely Brandon,Bullwinkle, roxie,bandit and cinnamon

[Deleted]

Hi Brandon and Welcome to the HFF

Insulinoma is a difficult disease, but it can be managed. The more that you learn about it, the better for your two, who have it.
Ferrets are not designed to eat fruits/veggies/starches or grains. They are meat eaters. What happens with Insulinoma is that they develop small tumors in their pancreas. Then the pancreas begins to over produce insulin and that makes their Blood Glucose drop.
When their blood glucose drops, they experience symptoms like staring into space, hind leg weakness, they sleep more, and they may not want to eat.

You can't stop the disease from progressing, but you can learn to manage the symptoms and properly managed, they can have alot more time and feel alot better than experiencing the ups and downs of low blood glucose.

Kibble has starches/fruits/grains and carbs in it. That is not good for ferrets. A ferret is a carnivore and should be eating a balanced nutrient rich diet of meat/bones and organs.
If you look under the Home Page, under Natural Diet, there is alot of information on a healthy diet for the little ones.
We have a Mentoring program where a Mentor helps guide you thru the process of switching your ferrets to a healthier diet.

Is your Vet suggesting Prednisone or Prednisolone? Prednisolone is easier on their little body.
Did your vet do any bloodwork? Do you know what their Blood glucose levels are?
There is another medicine that works with Pred and that is called Diazoxide.
Like I said, the more that you learn, the better for your little ones.
I'm linking an Insulinoma Overview for you to read:
holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/2702

I wish you and your little ones all the best. I hope you will stay around and keep us updated.

[bandit and cinnamon]

He was just at the vet two weeks ago his sugar level was 104 I'm pretty sure he said and they are both on prednisone roxie is doing very well but her brother isn't and I'm willing to do anything to make his life better ..they are only on a 5mg dose once a day ..thanks I'm going to read your link right now I'm very interested in it

[bandit and cinnamon]

And I'm very interested in the mentoring program to help me get my ferrets on good food would greatly appreciate it and so would my furry Lil family

[bandit and cinnamon]

I have to say thank you so much after reading that I realize i been doing some things really wrong no more ferrevite or treats I'll start given him meat asap as treats but I'll slowly wean him off his regular food I have much to learn .

[Deleted]

I'm so glad that you are willing to learn about it. You will be able to help avoid those ups and downs that come from their blood glucose spiking.

There is one thing to watch for with Insulinoma. If their BG drops too low, they can have a seizure.
The 104 is a nice high number. You can learn to take their BG yourself, I'll put up a link for you.
If you do see a seizure, you want to put a drop of karo syrup on their gums. Next time that you go to the market, pick up some. It will keep well and be there for an emergency.

Here is a link to learning to take their BG levels at home:
www.unc.edu/~pjdutche/bloodsugar/

Did your vet explain that they should eat something before they have their medicine? That's important to avoid ulcers. Also if you can, ask your vet about getting Prednisolone for them. It's much easier on their little tummies.

There is a link for signing up for the Mentoring program. Right now, we have a waiting list. Mentoring is free, so don't worry about that. What alot of ferrents do is to start their own switching thread and then all of the Mentors will read it and offer advice until you are assigned your own Mentor.

holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/61/sign-mentoring-program

[bandit and cinnamon]

See my vet was saying that's still low but everything I been reading says it's good but he is still acting like he has low sugars ..with the raw food diet I want to start it but I have no idea where to begin or how to go about Maken it I'll have to find the nutrition thread you mentioned

[bandit and cinnamon]

It also seems like he can't hold his pee and stuff sometimes he just goes in random spotsI'm really worried about him makes me upset to see my Lil boy like this

[Deleted]

Here is the Board and then you can look thru it for more info:
holisticferret60.proboards.com/board/42/newbie-diet

Mentors will usually start you off with a raw soupie recipe. Older Ferrets have imprinted on their food and so they have to learn that this new food is really food.
A balanced soupie recipe provides all their required nutrients and is the first step towards moving them to a natural diet.

This is the soupie recipe:

8 ounces of raw chicken thigh (includ some skin)
1-2 chicken hearts
1/2 chicken liver
1/2 tsp of dried eggshell powder

Save up your eggshells and let them dry out for a day or two. Then you grind them up in a magic bullet, a clean coffee grinder or a blender. They will store well in a dry place.

Blend all this up in a thick paste. You can freeze some in ice cube trays and then just pop them out and add warm water to make a soup. In the beginning, they will like it thinner at first.

Hearts are often hard to find. Most of us will shop in a good Asian Market for our hearts and organs. The local stores may order hearts for you. Tyson's sells a package of hearts and gizzards, but you only get one or two in the package and the rest is gizzards.

The fun part is now you get to convince them to try the soup. Sit on the floor with a towel, a spoon and a ferret. Dab your finger into the soupie. Wipe this on their lips and they have to lick it off.
If they try to jump off your lap, you simply put them back on your lap and place a hand under them to let them know that you are there.
Once they've licked off the soup, try to offer some with a spoon.
They really don't recognize this as food, so the key to your success is to keep trying. Be gentle and patient and persistent. They will come to learn this is food and really like it.

Once you get them eating the soup, then you will start adding small slivers of chicken.
The idea is to get them to eat slivers of chicken and reduce the amount of soup.
Once they are eating the slivers, then we move to the next stage and they begin to follow a menu that includes meat/bones and organs. That's a little later down the road.

So far so good. You'll find that their fur becomes very soft, they poop smaller and less smelly poops and they receive all nutrients and no waste from kibble filler. Their energy levels will improve and the little guys will smell better.

[bandit and cinnamon]

Ok so with all that I just put it raw into a pot and cook it ? I guess I have too puree it for them as well .I'm going out to buy the stuff right now

[Deleted]

No cooking.
Ferrets digest their nutrients better when they are raw. Just think of how they would eat in the outdoors. They would catch a mouse or a prairie dog and eat it raw.

[bandit and cinnamon]

Ok so just puree it or chop it finally ? I really appreciate your help

[bandit and cinnamon]

Oh and how long can I keep it for frozen in cubes be for its no good ?

[Deleted]

Do you have a blender or a magic bullet? You can chop it all up in that.
Remember the eggshells need to dry out. You can't cook them first, they need to air dry.
It won't hurt though, if you want to make your first batch of soup without them. The eggshells are there to provide calcium, but it will be fine to go a day or two without it, until you have eggshell powder.

The soup in ice cube trays will be good for two or three months. I like to put the ice cube trays into a large baggie. That way there is no freezer burn.

I meant to ask you about your little one who is peeing everywhere? Is that new behavior? Do you think that he can't make it to the box or is it possible that he just is not wanting to use the litter box?
How far does he have to go to get there?

[bandit and cinnamon]

I have a blender I'll do the same with the bag. It's new second time I've seen it I have two litters in there cage they have the ferret nation ..but yes he seems to not wanna use it and sometimes digs in it I try to stop him but he does the same with his food sometimes rather eat off the floor for some reason ....eggs shells do I need to rinse off be for letting dry ?