My ferret, Dakota, seemed to have some kind of seizure today. I had noticed over the past couple of weeks he's been shivering a lot, like he's cold, even when the room temperature is fairly warm. I figured it might just be from weather changes combined with the fact that he's an OLD ferret, but now I'm not so sure. A little bit after noon today, I noticed he was shivering almost uncontrollably, and so I went to put some warmer bedding materials in his cage, plus a heating pad. I put him in his cage so he could rest in the warm, but then he suddenly fell off the ramp that leads to the upper portion of his cage, and lay on the bottom of the cage, drooling and kicking around like something about to die. It was really scary. I held him until it stopped, almost expecting him to die, but he came right out of it and started acting like his normal self again.

I am not sure what that was all about, but it has me really concerned for him. He does not seem to be showing any signs of insulinoma, adrenal disease, or other common ferret illnesses, so I am just stumped on this one. The soonest I can get him to the vet is Monday. In the meantime, does anyone have ideas on what may have caused this? 

The seizure you described could BE a sign of insulinoma.  It would be best to get his glucose checked.  It could be a neurological issue, but start simple.  If it happens again before you get him checked, try rubbing corn syrup (karo) or honey on his gums.  Treating insulinoma is simple and cheap but any seizure could be fatal.  One internet friend lost a ferret to his first seizure, and she knew what it was and did the honey rub.
We've had 5 cases and never seen a full blown seizure.  My first case lost his appetite and a lot of weight quick.  It was only when I noticed how skinny he was that I started suspecting insulinoma, and he had a full thick coat.  I had pred for another ferret's lymphoma and it got him through the weekend until he could see a vet.  All of the others had mild seizures where we found them staring into space or rocking back and forth on their feet or both.  We keep a glucose meter on hand so we can check any we suspect.
Best of luck.

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure it would be insulinoma because he hasn't lost weight, no weakness in the back legs (except after the seizure, of course, he seemed so disoriented he couldn't really stand at all for a couple of moments) and he's had a good appetite up until today. He hasn't eaten much, if anything, since the seizure, just been resting at the top of his cage where I put a heating pad for him. I will keep a close eye on him til Monday, and if a seizure happens again I will try the corn syrup on his gums and see if that helps any. Thanks much!

Sounds like insulinoma....time for vet check.

keep us posted on little one.