From:
Bruce Williams, DVM
Date: 2001-04-16 20:59:00 UTC
Subject: Re: hair regrowth
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., sharon allen <echotally@y...> wrote:
> We are awaiting the results of the Tenn panel drawn on
> Toby, my 3 year old male sable. He has lost the
> typical pattern; starting at the shoulders and going
> back. The panel was drawn April 4th; and the area
> that was shaved to draw the blood now is having new
> hair regrowth. I apologise for my naive question, but
> is this typical in a ferret who may have adrenal
> disease? Thank you.
Dear Sharon - The one thing that is typical of adrenal disease is
that nothing is typical. And your question is not naive.
It is not uncommon for ferrets with adrenal disease to regrow hair -
sometimes they do it all over, and sometimes they just grow it back
in patches. Another point that we don't know is why ferrets with
adrenal disease (or many other animals with endocrine imbalances)
preferentially lose hair over the trunk, flanks and abdomen.
Just because the hair has grown back on an extremity is not a reason
to question the diagnosis.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM