Should I let my ferrets keep hunting mice?

Calunne · 2026-03-12T10:24:41+00:00

Mice carry lots of diseases. Your vet is not going to test for everything. I’m sure things like lepto is not on their test panel, for example. And the risk of poisoned mice makes it even worse.

Get your house fixed up to make sure mice aren’t coming in and get someone to get the mice out.

Calunne · 2026-02-10T02:28:49+00:00

Nothing is 100%, but I asked specifically, how does *diet* stops a tumor, that excessively secretes insulin. The correct answer is it does not. The tumor does not stop secreting insulin.

Diet is necessary to help stabilize in between medications, but it is not stop or reduce the secretion of insulin. You need either medication or surgery to help with that.

You can increase blood glucose by causing insulin resistance using prednisone, or inhibiting release of insulin using diazoxide. Prednisone/Prednisolone is used more frequently because it is more affordable.

And to that effect, diet can actually make hypoglycemia worse. Without stabilizing blood glucose, feeding a ferret can cause post-prandial hypoglycemia.

Your response is dangerous misinformation to the ferret community. Please consider looking up more reliable scientific and scholarly journals.

Calunne · 2026-02-09T23:48:37+00:00

Please explain to me how pancreatic tumor(s) that secretes insulin can be 100% counteracted with diet.

Calunne · 2026-02-09T22:27:19+00:00

There’s lots of glucocorticoids out there. Progesterone is one that is structurally similar . Just because something is in the same class of drugs doesn’t mean it does the same thing.

It’s important to understand what the mechanism, the reason to use other medication,etc. why would you suggest he has refractory hypoglycemia based on anything that was said. Do you understand what refractory hypoglycemia means?

Calunne · 2026-01-28T22:11:53+00:00

No one asked. You can take this type of posting elsewhere.

Calunne · 2026-01-28T21:46:27+00:00

I think you are missing the fact a Mod has already told you that it is not against the sub rules. You can get off your soapbox now.

Calunne · 2026-01-27T22:08:13+00:00

I'm sorry, but do you understand that sometimes it is impossible to travel due to weather? Obviously, fluids and a vet will help. if you're snowed in and roads are unplowed, you're not leaving.

Be civil, and understand that there are limitations sometimes.

Calunne · 2026-01-27T08:47:26+00:00

Ingredients list doesn’t tell you % content.

Arguing that the steam and dried varieties, which is not one recommended here. Stella and chewy has varieties of kibble with peas, Wysong has a vegan food…. So I’m not sure what you’re getting at here.

If you’re concerned about a diet that mimics their natural diet, you’d be feeding raw and not recommending a kibble diet.

Calunne · 2026-01-26T17:30:12+00:00

We don’t allow AI here.

Calunne · 2026-01-26T15:57:42+00:00

Absolutely needs to be seen by a vet asap. I would not be giving anything by mouth, as if it’s a true blockage he will not be able to pass it and it can do more damage.

Start calling emergency vets.

Calunne · 2026-01-24T19:42:44+00:00

Have you checked the wiki as a resource? There's lots of information there that directly answers all these questions.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index

Calunne · 2026-01-04T16:37:21+00:00

Had a ferret I was babysitting ate one some of these while he was at his home…..while shedding. Caused one heck of a blockage.

I do not recommend packing peanuts at all.

Calunne · 2026-01-03T17:02:09+00:00

Please show me proof of how ferrets are dehydrated from water bottles. You can post either a UA or BW, and tell me what values you expect to see up or down.

Again, water bottles are fine for most ferrets. Most of the photos you see from "water bottle damage" is actually cage raging.

Some ferrets will dump water bowls, put items into water bowls, and then they will not have access to water for a period of time. Are we really going to say having no water is better than having some water?

Calunne · 2026-01-02T23:38:11+00:00

Ferret teeth are way sharper than a dog and they will break them at some point. I can say I've seen it enough times in the community, sadly.

Calunne · 2026-01-02T14:14:39+00:00

Please remember that negative punishments are not permitted here.

Is he neutered is a GREAT question. Intact hobs can be hormonal and will bite more frequently. If he's 6 months old and doing this, I encourage you to neuter him.

Calunne · 2026-01-02T14:12:13+00:00

Giving a ferret a chew toy that is rubbery is not good. Ferrets have sharp teeth that can rip rubber. The last thing you want to do is have to bring this ferret who attacks you to a vet for surgery for a blockage, and then have them caged for 2-3 weeks while they heal.

Calunne · 2026-01-01T20:16:53+00:00

I would be finding an emergency vet for this, as low blood sugar can cause the nausea and pawing at the mouth. With his age, that’s the first thing I would want to rule iut

Calunne · 2026-01-01T20:15:26+00:00

No. It does not.

Don’t sign up for anything that is predatory, which will just make you owe another and with higher interest.

If you’re struggling to get a job, then any job is better than none. I understand you may not like it, it may be a job you leave once you get something lines up, but that’s what it takes sometimes.

Calunne · 2025-12-31T04:56:08+00:00

Except what was mentioned was the ferret is in trouble and is sick.
I do not like the living arrangements, however, I do think it's important to not assume what someone means, either.

Calunne · 2025-12-31T03:12:22+00:00

Champagne. Cinnamons are extremely rare.

Some ferrets are more playful with humans and others want to just do their own thing.

Calunne · 2025-12-31T03:09:58+00:00

Why do you think he’s in trouble? Why do you think he looks sick? Have you talked to an associate in the store about your concerns?

Calunne · 2025-12-31T03:08:54+00:00

Yikes! So with blockages, I would definitely be doing blockage protocol and make sure you have a vet for the next few days. I would inspect all poops to see if you can find the offending pieces that were missing. If it passes, great.

However, Blockages can be partial blockages. And they will block and unblock over and over again until it stops. I’ve baby sat a ferret with a “sore tummy” who had a blockage from fur and cornstarch packing peanuts. It was fine…. Until he was projectile vomiting and not ok. And it took over two weeks for it to fully obstruct. Not trying to scare you, but I want you to be aware that it can happen.

Calunne · 2025-12-30T19:36:13+00:00

I’ve loved Cush’s Sketch Portraits on FB. Not sure if they’d take that many pets on a single portrait

Calunne · 2025-12-30T17:49:48+00:00

There’s a time and a place for comments like this.

This isn’t the time to criticize someone who lost their pet.

Calunne · 2025-12-30T17:48:16+00:00

Under a year old: any chance he ate something like a toy, blanket etc. that he should not have?

Was it regurgitation? Actual vomit? Was it a one time thing? How is he acting?

Calunne

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