From:
williamsb@comcast.net
Date: 2003-01-17 21:37:43 UTC
Subject: RE: Please help me
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <17933478.1042839463035.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Author wrote:
> I have a 7 1/2 year old ferret. About a year ago his hair on his tail
> started falling out. I have read about rat tail and dont think this is the
> problem. I have also read on adrenal gland disease, however, he is not
> losing hari all over his body. Could you please give me some idea as
> the
> nearest vet is 7 hours from my home. He seemed to start losing the hair
> once we introduced a cat to the house.
Dear Randi:
Tough to tell, it could be either. However, it is difficult to predict how the pattern of hair loss in adrenal disease will affect a particular ferret. The vast majority have hair loss that progresses forward from the tail - it doesn' tgenerally happen all over at once. A lot of times, vets are presented with ferrets with generalized hair loss, but that is because the owner doesn't pick up on it until it is somewhat advanced.
With a 7.5 year old animal and a 7 hour drive - we can probably wait a little while and see if the hair loss continues.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM