Need advice for strange symptoms. Possibly insulinoma

[storm]

  Nibbles had a short but scary episode today and we're not sure yet why but it might be insulinoma. She was born in January of 2016 so she's not a young ferret but not well up there yet either. I came home from work this morning and she acted perfectly fine. She and Snowball have their own free roam room and I let them run around in the house a bit when I first get home. I let them out and Nibbles went into a storage room that I deemed safe for her while I kept an eye on Snowball in the hallway. (I keep a closer eye on Snowball because she's much older, between 9-10). There's canned food, stacked blankets and sealed plastic tubs and things like that in there. 

  Nibbles was in the room a couple of minutes and when I walked in she was staggering and flopping around unable to make it across the floor without falling. It almost looked like what you expect from someone getting wasted drunk. I picked her up checking for injuries but there was nothing. Her staggering was so bad that when I set her back down she tried to walk but stumbled forward with her head dipping down so that she did a front flip and rolled against the wall. Then she just lay there curled up against the wall having trouble righting herself. I quickly put her some place where she couldn't hurt herself and called the vet for an emergency visit. They approved it and I rushed her in but by the time I got there she started acting fine again. (About a 30 minute drive). She was a little withdrawn but she also doesn't like the vet so I can't be sure if it was that or not. She could walk just fine though with no problem. She didn't even act woozy. Overall she checked out except for a very low glucose. They gave her a sugar pick me up there and some more to take home in case it happened again as well as referring me to a specialist. 

  I thought that she might have been coming out of a seizure or that there was something I missed in the room so I checked it after I got back. There are boxed dry foods in a cabinet but was firmly shut and there is no way she opened the heavy door, messed around and then left closing it behind her. The same with the sealed tubs. It's a stretch that she could get inside let along snapping the lid back on after leaving it. I did find that there was a bag of plain epsom salt on a high shelf behind some cans that had spilled a little on the floor below. The vet didn't think that it was a toxin because it faded so quickly but I'll call and check in the morning.
    
  Other than that, I don't know what it could be. The only issue found was the low glucose and now she's running around like nothing is wrong but that episode has me worried. Could it have possibly been the salt or something else? I highly doubt she would have eaten it but I got rid of it just incase. 

[Corvidophile]

It could be a low blood sugar incident, yeah. What was her BG?

[unclejoe]

Mar 25, 2022 19:08:03 GMT -5 Corvidophile said:

It could be a low blood sugar incident, yeah. What was her BG?

It does sound like insulinoma to me.  Very low glucose (reading?)  says insu, and the other signs are consistent.  She needs pred.  The sugar bombs are temporary, very short-lasting.  Please get her in ASAP.  ANY seizure is dangerous, and you might not catch the next one.  If your vet can check BG again, soonly, and it is still below 60, get her a scrip for prednisolone liquid.  I've had I've had 5 adopted ferrets develop insu well before 6.  Thoughts and prayers going out.

[storm]

She's on pred now. They called the specialist and she recommended the pred right away. I don't remember the exact BG but think the reading was at 29. I'll going to see if they want me to still go to the specialist or to recheck on my local clinic. It's a three hour drive one way and probably would be stressful for her so hopefully here. She's taken her first dose and I'll be keeping a close eye on her.
What that a seizure or something similar? Or does it cause dizzy spells?

[Corvidophile]

That’s VERY low, definitely sounds like a seizure could’ve happened at that number. They can start having seizures in the 50’s in particularly sensitive ferrets. Glad she’s on pred now, she’ll need regular checkups at about one week intervals until the right dose is found, then most likely monthly.

[unclejoe]

you should verify the glucometer the vet used. It should be an AlphaTrak II set on Dog. 29 is really low. Normal is ~90-120, 65-165 acceptable

miamiferret.org/physiology.htm

[storm]

It is possible that it was a misread and it wasn't quite that low or I simply remembered wrong. My vet is closed except for emergency on Sunday but I'm going to schedule an appointment to go back and recheck her glucose again tomorrow.
I also found a video with another ferret acting very similar that what Nibbles was doing. link
I haven't seen any relapses except maybe a mild one but I also could be overreacting. Sometimes she just gets clumsy when excited but I picked her up to hold her so she couldn't hurt herself regardless. Overall though, she's acting like her normal self.

[unclejoe]

I don't want to cause a panic, but I have personally known of 3 ferrets who had died from their first seizure. I'm so glad she's on pred now. You'd want to get BG checked after a couple weeks anyway, and the vet should be able to tell you the actual reading over the phone.

[storm]

I didn't think to ask again but I have her scheduled for another glucose check. I can ask again then. I haven't seen any other trouble yet thankfully and hopefully we can keep it at bay.

[eclipso]

If you feed a raw diet, it can help to give them more fat. The fat gives them long term energy, so the crashes would be less sudden. If you don't want to give more fat in the diet, you can supplement with fish oil as long as it's not rancid, or some other supplement you find. Just a diet recommendation.

[unclejoe]

Mar 28, 2022 13:48:29 GMT -5 storm said:

I didn't think to ask again but I have her scheduled for another glucose check. I can ask again then. I haven't seen any other trouble yet thankfully and hopefully we can keep it at bay.

I learned to do BG checks myself using the AlphaTrakII.  It was hit or miss being able to get a good blood drop without the fuzzer moving or fur interfering.  
But as you know from this forum, Abita lived until 7+, being on pred over 2 years, and sometimes her dosage was reduced for a couple months at a time.

[storm]

I got her BG rechecked and it's back in the 60s. I also asked about the last reading and they said that it was that low. Sorry. I was busy with work and Nibbles and forgot to post. Come Monday I'm going to try to get her scheduled with a specialist. It might be hard as it's about 3 hours away one way but they have better equipment and people who specialize in exotics. Nibbles won't be happy about it but maybe I can get someone to come with me to help her with her frustrations.

[unclejoe]

Bring along a carrier. All of my ferrets last about 15-20 in the car before going to sleep.

[storm]

I have a large that can hold a little box and water. My problem is that my ferrets are prone to bar chewing and Nibble is pretty bad about it. Maybe she'll be alright and I just worry too much.

[unclejoe]

Are you ok with them wandering around the car while driving? They will probably be asleep in the same time anyway. they may or may not go in a box or on a puppy pad. I would use the carrier. When I moved to Tennessee I had 7 ferrets in the cab of the moving van for a 10 hour trip, and they all slept behind the seat with a litter box, food and water bowls. It was August so they had to be in the a/c. We stopped every couple hours and walked a couple of the older ones.
If you are driving alone I would not recommend free roam in the car because they can get into trouble trying to get into the dashboard, lol.