From:
"Roger Vaughn"
Date: 2002-11-26 21:18:56 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] How unusual is this?
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Cc: <WOLFYSLUV@aol.com>
Message-ID: <2979.192.168.132.34.1038345536.squirrel@webmail.seaconinc.com>
> TWO. It's not possible to have adrenal problems at two is it? Tell
> me its not. Please?
The only way to know for sure what it is is to see your vet. All I
can do is relate my recent experience to you.
We just had two adrenalectomies done. The first ferret is 3 years old
(we think), the second turning 5. Both had rat tail with blackheads.
The first is aggressive towards the others, but even after surgery and
recovery is *still* aggressive. The second was only aggressive
towards my hands and feet and only one of our other ferrets. Neither
showed sexual aggression, just plain aggressiveness.
The 3 yr old had no hair loss other than the rat tail. The 5 yr old
had no hair loss either - but does have a patch on his shoulder that
was shaved in June (for removal of a hemangioma) that has not grown
back. Now that I *know* I can also tell that the fur on his lower
neck is thinning, but I didn't really notice that before.
Neither had problems urinating, but did have (slightly) enlarged
prostates. It took ultrasound to reveal this.
Understanding that I'm not a vet, neither of these boys seemed to me
like they showed any clear symptoms of adrenal disease. The only
clues we had were the chronic prostatic infection in the 3 yr old
(manifested as high cell counts in his urine, cultures negative), the
shoulder that wouldn't regrow in the 5 yr old, and non-specific
aggression in both. My vets (two of them) could not look at these
boys and say "yes, that's adrenal disease" either. We had to go the
diagnostic route. Both got ultrasound, and the 5 yr old the TN panel.
Despite the fact that his TN panel showed three key hormones
(estradiol, progesterone, androstenedione) at OVER THREE TIMES NORMAL,
we still didn't have definitive outward symptoms.
So, my point is, if you even *suspect* adrenal disease - and I would
in your case - you might want to consider diagnostics or even
exploratory surgery to confirm or deny it.
BTW, in the 3 yr old we found a left cortical carcinoma and a cystic,
but not neoplastic, right gland. The 5 yr old had a neoplastic left
and a friable right. (We're still waiting on the pathology for him.)
So both boys were effectively bilaterals.
roger & the fuzzies
missing bear