From:
Amber
Date: 2001-05-17 20:15:00 UTC
Subject: adrenal disease possibilities
I have 4 ferrets, 1 that I am pretty sure has it and another that may
get it. The one that is showing signs now is an 8 month old male. He
is a very light milk-in-coffee colored sable.He is losing hair on his
tail under his neck, his feet, on top of his head, his shoulders,and
scattered patches on his body. He is also scratching constantly and
shaking his head. He has been to the vet twice this week and has
spent the entire day there; he has NO mites or parasites or anything.
He is absolutely clean. Yesterday, I am fairly certain, he had a
fever and he wouldn't eat,drink,attempt to walk or stand up, and
could barely keep his eyes open. He is either scratching or sleeping
and very little in between. He has lost a lot of weight and is more
snuggly than normal. He is my major concern.
The other is another 8 month old female. She is a silvermitt. She has
very soft fur and so far has fared better than all of the males. Her
weight is very consistent, she is always perky and playful and eats
well. But what concerns me about her is the difference of texture in
fur between the ones that have the disease and don't. The male that
is sick now also had soft fur. I am from South Carolina and ferrets
were just made legal to sell here a few months ago. This means we
don't have very many ferret knowledgeable vets in this area. PLEASE
HELP ME !! WHAT CAN I DO?? The vet that we use now thinks that my
male may have AGD but doesn't have the equipment to test him for sure
and suggests to do exploratory surgery or find a specialist but I
don't think there are any here. PLEASE HELP thanks a million
Amber Baker, South Carolina