From:
Leanneb36@wmconnect.com
Date: 2003-01-07 18:28:23 UTC
Subject: Ferrets and adrenal neoplasms-lighting
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <106.1de8b8f0.2b4c7647@wmconnect.com>
Hello all,
Just thought I'd add my two cents in this discussion. I currantly have a
German/European bloodline kid that was altered at 6 months of age and
developed adrenal at approx 1 year of age. So do I personally think late
alter etc has anything to do with it? I would say, waiting till approx one
year to fix is your best bet but I tend to believe somewhere along the lines
with Dr Murray and lighting. Yes, ferrets are kept mostly outside in the UK,
Europe etc etc they receive natural daylight but I would almost bet they have
very dark sleeping areas to use if not burrows during the day. We seem to be
consistant with the amount of light (artificial and not)that stimulates the
pituatary glands in the evening but what about during the day? I currantly
have my kids room now blacked in evening hours period.. to the point you can
not see your hand in front of your face, which was easy enough to do. But
what am am really wondering.. what are we doing during the day when they
would normally be burrowed in some deep dark prarie dog cave? I strongly
believe in the excessive light theory overstimulating the pituatary gland
cause the adrenals (whom by the way don't understand the whole fixed/not
fixed thing) to overproduce hormones that the body has no way of releasing
(ie the fixed thing again). So what happens in time: the pituatary is
overstimulated due to excessive lighting and the body (brain what have you)
not knowing that the ferrets genitals are not intact and the body now having
no deisire to mate.. the pituatary still (due to light/brain activity
stimulates the adrenal to produce the same hormones as if the ferret were
intact and again after time causing the adrenal neoplasm.
Again, keeping in mind what happens with the males adrenal becomes grossly
afftected? They return once again to the mating stage... and even some males
of friends secret the opposite hormone to become another males target. Okay,
so it was like fifiteen cents worth but I hope you get my point.
My suggestion: providing dark sleeeping area (pitch black like blacked out
nesting boxes with black tubes being the only access to said box) and
providing a black out room in the dark hours of evening.. will not hurt the
situation. My ferrets tend to be up before me playing in the morning, play
for an hour or two and then sleep until about dark thirty (early evening)
they forage at night and early morning very seldom eating during the light
hours of the day.. but this is just my observation.
Food for thought...
Take care
Leanne and the insanely cute febbets