From:
Mike Janke
Date: 2001-06-18 19:33:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Adrenal question
I think my biggest concern with not treating an adrenal problem in a
male would be prostate enlargement. This would cause a urinary
blockage which would not only be very painful, but life-threatening.
If Lupron or surgery is really not an option, you might want to give
melatonin a try. It's inexpensive and while not as good as surgery
and probably not as good as Lupron, it's better than doing nothing.
Check the archives here for melatonin and you'll find plenty of info
on it.
As for bringing in another ferret and risking bringing in ECE... it
is definitely risky and at Roscoe's age and current health condition,
I wouldn't take the chance unless you can be absolutely, positively
sure that the incoming ferret has never had ECE or had it so long ago
(well over a year) that there wouldn't be a risk to Roscoe. I don't
know if one can really ever be that sure.
Besides, if Roscoe has been an only ferret for 7 years, he may not
appreciate a newcomer, so you may not be doing him any favors by
bringing in a companion for him.
mike
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "Camille DeLacey"
<camilledelacey@n...> wrote:
> Hey everyone!
>
> My name is Camille and i've been lurking since the beginning of
this
> board...
>
> I've got some adrenal related questions...
>
> My 7 year old, male ferret has adrenal. He has taken Lupron for
about
> 4 months, and started growing some more hair...I really can't
afford
> to keep him on it though. So, he's been off for about 3 months now.
> He's losing hair agian, and has grown considerable weaker...He no
> longer climbs much...and it does seem that his bowel and bladder
> movements have changed... getting to be more frequent peeing and
less
> bowel movements...or less amount of poo for one bowel movement. He
> still wants to get up and explore and play...
>
> I'm just wondering what to expect as the disease progresses and how
> to tell if he is in pain. He does already have tummy problems with
a
> recurring stomach upset from a bout of heliobacter which caused an
> ulcer, which I tread with pepto from time to time...But he's still
> eating and drinking very well...
>
> I'm also wondering what would happen to him, if I adopted other
> ferrets? Would he be susceptible to getting sick? I don't know if
> he's ever had ECE because he's been an only ferret...
>
> Any advice would be most helpful...TIA!
>
> Camille
> and Roscoe the ferret!