Ferrets
and Insulinomas©
David McCluggage, D.V.M.
Chaparral
Animal Health Center™
WellVet.com™
Ferrets commonly develop low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) due to a tumor of the pancreas called an insulinoma. The low blood sugar levels can produce signs in ferrets that include:
ˇ Muscle weakness
ˇ Lethargy
ˇ Rubbing or pawing at the face
ˇ Loss of appetite (or increased appetite)
ˇ Stumbling, drunk appearance
ˇ Head thrown over shoulders or sideways
ˇ Coma and death
The coma is similar to a diabetic's insulin coma, meaning that the blood sugar has fallen so low that the brain can no longer function.
Insulinomas are malignant cancers of the pancreas, specifically involving a cell type in the pancreas called Islet Cells (more specifically, the Beta Cells). They can be seen in ferrets of any adult age, but are most common in ferrets over 3 years of age.
The cause is unknown, but we believe poor diets have a major role in the development of these common cancers. Ferrets are pure carnivores and should be eating meat. Most ferret diets include large amounts of grain, which can not be healthy for the ferret.
We also believe that irresponsible inbreeding, so commonly practiced with ferrets, is another cause. Finally, ferrets are neutered at absurdly young ages, which must play an adverse role in a ferret's general health. It is simply not normal to have so little hormonal activity from such a young age.
Traditional Therapies
Diets
Routine diet recommendations for ferrets with insulinomas include the use of commercial diets with the addition of Ensure® or other similar liquid diet when the ferret does not eat.
We believe that it is very helpful to feed your ferret small meals, several times a day.
We also recommend placing the ferret on a diet very high in meat. Cut up chicken wings, chicken legs, and chicken necks are excellent additions to the diet. Any meat the ferret will eat that does not come from a can is acceptable. The meat can be fed raw or cooked lightly.
If the ferret refuses to eat for any reason, try taking ground beef, cook well, add extra water and place in a food processor or blender until liquefied. This is a much better liquid diet than the above-mentioned Ensure®
We recommend Feline Multiple Geriatric Vitamin as an excellent addition to their diet as well.
Feeding many small meals is essential as the disease progresses.
Keep some form of a simple sugar source such as honey or Karo Syrup® on hand if the ferret goes into a hypoglycemic shock or coma. Feed these simple sugars only when absolutely necessary. The diet should be, on the whole, extremely low in carbohydrates.
Medical Therapy
Traditional Western medical care includes giving prednisone - often in extremely high doses - to the ferret. We would only recommend a moderate prednisone therapy plan, if at all. Another drug, Diazoxide (ProglycemŽ), has anti-insulin effects and may also be helpful at times.
Surgery
There are times when surgery may help, but insulinomas are usually small tumors of the pancreas. There are usually many of them present at the same time and others will form soon after surgery. We have seen some ferrets helped by the use of surgery, but most are only marginally better if at all. It is best to reserve surgery for the younger animals that do not have other diseases. Ultrasound can be performed prior to surgery, which might let you know if the disease is too advanced for surgery to be of any benefit. It also should be used to determine if there are adrenal gland tumors. If there are, and the adrenal gland tumor is only on one side, it can be surgically treated. The best treatment for adrenal gland tumors appears to be cryosurgery (freezing the adrenal gland).
Complementary Therapy
We often recommend a product that regulates insulin metabolism, called Diabenil® (Thorne Research). It has been very helpful in many cases. Treating to slow the development of the cancer is also very important. For ferrets, we would recommend:
We strongly recommend
against the use of Brewer's yeast, something that is commonly recommended
in some other discussions on insulinomas of ferrets. Brewer's yeast
has chromium, which might help slightly, but the amount of carbohydrates
in the product makes its use contraindicated.
For further information, see our product information articles for Diabenil and Vanoxyl for treating diabetes. Although the disorder is exactly opposite (Insulinoma has high blood insulin and low blood glucose, while Diabetes has low blood insulin and high blood glucose), the herbal therapy is similar.