From:
Petersen
Date: 2001-03-30 13:32:00 UTC
Subject: Early Neutering = More Adrenal Tumors?
Ed, I'm surprised that you posted that question after running a shelter for
many? years. Don't you track your shelter ferrets in some way? I started
keeping track of the shelter ferrets in order to do the paperwork for the
STAR Ferrets resource listing, but it's been helpful in other ways too.
It has been our experience that 95% of the shelter ferrets who get adrenal
tumors are Marshall Farms ferrets - on the other hand, 95% of the ferrets
that come into the shelter ARE Marshall Farms. That experience has been
confirmed by one of our local, very experienced ferret vets. In our
personal experience, we have had equal amounts of problems with the ferrets
from private breeders and the Marshall Farms ferrets. It may also be that
coming into a shelter creates more stress on the animals thus making them
more susceptible to adrenal or other problems. And most of the adrenals
are not malignant.
Sara Petersen
FURRY