Advice for Frequent Feeding with Insulinoma

[njcrouth]

One of my little girls has started treatment for insulinoma.  She was starting to show lethargy and spacing out so we did a glucometer and her BG came back as 73.  Not definitive, but close enough that we put her on medicine. 

I know with insulinoma that I need to feed her more frequently to help keep her BG stable.  I can do that during the day no problem.  However, I'm not sure what to do overnight.  I have 4 ferrets, all on raw whole animal grind.  I feed at 8 in the morning and 5 in the evening.  I can't leave food in the room overnight or they will all eat it.  I monitor and measure their intake carefully because I have found it to be very true when people say they tend to overeat on grind.  I can't get up in the middle of the night to feed her - I have my own health challenges and need sleep.  I have to do for me sometimes so that I am able to do for them all the time.

What do other people do in this case?  Is it ohk to let her go overnight without food?  Should I put her in a separate room with food at night?  I hate the thought of her being by herself but I also know if that's that best way to keep her healthy longer that I can do it.

[unclejoe]

could you keep her in the cage at night with food?

[Corvidophile]

Feed her as late as you can, right before bed, and as soon as you get up. That’s about it. If you want to leave her overnight snacks she’s gonna have to be separated so nobody else scoops it up, yeah. Mine also has insulinoma, and he eats at 7:30 AM, 2:30 PM, 7:30 PM, and finally 9 PM right before getting locked up for the night. I give him double the amount of food overnight as any of his other meals so it takes him longer to digest. The medicine also has a much higher effect than eating itself at raising blood sugar. You might look at giving the medicine as late at night as possible, too. Still keep to a 12 hour schedule, just let your bedtime dictate when you give it in the morning.

[njcrouth]

Thank you! I have been doing the meds at 12 hours apart at your suggestion and feeding her 4 times a day. I didn't realize the medicine was more important than the food.