i have a 3 year old DEW ferret who has most likely had adrenal disease .. all the signs were there including the fact that the vet even said she had a good chance of having it .. baldness.itchiness .. only had fur as a mask on her eyes. shaking. poofy tummy .. swollen vulva .. she has been like this for about 9 months .. since february 25? about when we adopted her. she never got blood work or even a treatment. we gave her a special food. it had ensure-baby chicken food-marshall ferret food-chicken broth-olive oil-baby banana food .. mixed together frozen then microwaved .. she used to not bother to dance dook or anything .. now she gets hyper easy and loves dancing dooking and all of that ferret stuff .. she is so sweet now .. she has almost all her fur except for on her tummy a little .. most of her tail and some other places .. its coming in orange though. . im releived she is getting better .. almost everything is better .. smaller vulva .. smaller tummy .. less shaking .. all that .. but what happened to my baby? why is she getting better without treatment? was is really adrenal disease? should i be worried? thanks .. if you are really sure about ur answer also email me at ttotjanetpick@aol.com ... thank you
Hi,
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
I am assuming you are in the U> S> as adrenal disease is common here where ferrets are surgically sterilized and in pet stores by the time they are 6 weeks old.
Adrenal disease is NOT a skin condition. Just because the fur is growing back does not mean the disease is gone. I have a lot of info I can give you, but don't have time right now to type it all out.
If you want to call me I can try to explain it to you over the phone. I have sort of answered this question before if you want to look through my answers.
Feel free to call:
757-463-8942
ferretsanctuary1@aol.com
It is easier to talk and clean cages than to type and clean cages:)
here is a quick explanation for everyone:
One of the most common diseases of our pet ferrets is adrenal gland disease.
Adrenal gland disease is an endocrine disease of ferrets that is related to the removal of the gonads (testes in males, ovaries in females). As ferrets age (usually at 3 years or older but has been seen in ferrets as young as 1.5 years) the adrenal glands begin to become receptive to gonadal hormones from the pituitary gland. The affected adrenal glands then begin to produce excessive levels of feminizing hormones such as estrogens. These elevated hormones begin to cause problems for our ferrets such as hair loss, itchy skin, pot bellied appearance, lethargy, swollen vulva in females and prostatic problems in males. Additionally these overactive adrenal glands may become cancerous. Adrenal gland disease is a life shortening and life threatening disease for ferrets.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Currently treatment involves surgery to remove the effected glands of younger and healthier ferrets or life time monthly hormone injections with Lupron for older ferrets or ferrets not healthy enough to be good candidates for surgery.
Future research will hopefully provide a slow release hormone that can be implanted in ferrets or perhaps an immunization that will deactivate the pituitary hormones affect on the adrenal gland to prevent this disease.
In the mean time some promising recent research from a study conducted by Cathy Johnson-Delaney, DVM on a group of ferrets found that a single injection of the hormone Lupron during the first breeding season (January - February) and then once annually (around this same time of year) may help to reduce or slow the incidence of adrenal gland disease in our pet ferrets.
For older ferrets that are already past their first breeding season (the first January - February after they were born) a single annual dose of Lupron during the month of January or February may help to reduce or slow the incidence of adrenal disease.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com For those of you with ferrets that have active adrenal disease that we are currently giving monthly injections of Lupron you should continue with your current monthly schedule.
For those ferrets that have had adrenal gland removal surgery and are currently not on monthly Lupron injections it may be helpful to have a single dose of Lupron during the month of January or February.
Additionally there is a new treatment that involves something called deslorin or superlorin implants that have been having some success with this devastating disease. It has not been approved in the US, but some vets have been able to obtain it for treating their ferret patients.
Doing nothing is not a kind option for your ferret.
I think its the way its born.
She's not getting better. If it's adrenal, symptoms can sometimes abate with the shedding season, but they come back the next ( summer) time - when sex hormones spike for mating (and yes, she's altered, but there's research showing that early-alter ferrets' adrenal glands are still bombarded by sex hormones, which is why adrenal disease is so high - the body can't cope with the amount, and the glands atrophy and then turn cancerous). You should at least put her on 1 mg melatonin (tablet form crushed and mixed with a bit of water in a syringe is fine) and give it to her 8 hours after sunrise, everyday. This sometimes is great at helping to regulate their bodies (and you should try to mimic daylight hours - 14 hours of dark in winter is key to keeping her coat healthy). If her vulva swells again, you should keep the area clean (using witch hazel and q-tip works). Infections could harm her.
