Rest well, little one.
Yeah, those were seizures.
We had Tiko put to sleep this afternoon. Poor little guy was having a lot of seizures. (See medical info at the end of this post.) Mom talked with the vet here that she used to work for, who agreed that given his symptoms it was time. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to come and do it herself, so several referrals down the line, we finally found a clinic that could get us in today. They were lovely people.
I'm just very very sad now. The poor little guy... he was just so calm and cuddly and nothing at all like a ferret normally is. I wish there was more I could have done for him. I did promise him that we'd welcome him back in our lives if he was reincarnated, and I promised that we'd make sure that we wouldn't get another ferret that would pick too much on his sister since that was his job.
He had insulinomas (pancreatic tumors that produce insulin). Last night when we got to the emergency vet clinic, his blood glucose was 32 (normal range for ferrets is 90-120). That's a level that's barely sustaining life. Even after staying up all night and giving him dextrose every two hours, he still had seizures. Yes, they were much milder, but it also really meant that there wasn't much hope for him living any kind of life that wasn't frightening and painful.
As for the rest of the family, Bryan is also incredibly sad, Kyra is very confused, the cats are very cuddly, and Lillie is energetic but a little lonely. (The poor girl knew something was really wrong; she did her little ferret best to *pick up* her brother after his seizures to try to make sure he was okay.)
We had Tiko put to sleep this afternoon. Poor little guy was having a lot of seizures. (See medical info at the end of this post.) Mom talked with the vet here that she used to work for, who agreed that given his symptoms it was time. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to come and do it herself, so several referrals down the line, we finally found a clinic that could get us in today. They were lovely people.
I'm just very very sad now. The poor little guy... he was just so calm and cuddly and nothing at all like a ferret normally is. I wish there was more I could have done for him. I did promise him that we'd welcome him back in our lives if he was reincarnated, and I promised that we'd make sure that we wouldn't get another ferret that would pick too much on his sister since that was his job.
He had insulinomas (pancreatic tumors that produce insulin). Last night when we got to the emergency vet clinic, his blood glucose was 32 (normal range for ferrets is 90-120). That's a level that's barely sustaining life. Even after staying up all night and giving him dextrose every two hours, he still had seizures. Yes, they were much milder, but it also really meant that there wasn't much hope for him living any kind of life that wasn't frightening and painful.
As for the rest of the family, Bryan is also incredibly sad, Kyra is very confused, the cats are very cuddly, and Lillie is energetic but a little lonely. (The poor girl knew something was really wrong; she did her little ferret best to *pick up* her brother after his seizures to try to make sure he was okay.)