From:
sukiec@optonline.com
Date: 2003-02-15 19:04:36 UTC
Subject: RE: Blaze's
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <29107927.1045335876669.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Well, if what Pete Reid of Marshall Farms told me a few years ago (5?) that they had decided to no longer breed pandas and blazes and if Danee's hypothesis is correct then you may be home free. Actually, if those are both true then the combination could explain Alicia not seeign worse health in the shelter ferrets if MFs are the greatest portion of the rescues in that area due to being the largest farm. Honestly, I don't know but that just holds together as a possible pattern.
If you look at the Brett Middleton post at the archive addy given earlier in this discussion at
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
you'll see a list of some of the medical problems associated with possible KITT or possible WS. (No one knows which of the neural crest complexes ferrets have or how many, or how many variants of the one or more they may have.)
Scooter fit much more into thee descriptions on KITT ferrets than of -- very spotty but he may have had more going on because he had a deformed paw with part of the skeleton actually bent back upon itself, malformed, and all within one flesh pocket, with a malformed claw erupting right through the flesh. He also had an ever-gorwing stomach that was more and more flaccid and had ever worsening motility, and his small intestine wasn't anything great,
'Chopper the Organic Helicopter could have had either KITT or SW or some other neural crest disorder. She ages prematurely and had age related problems early (except for adrenal ones). She also lost a lot a fur but had normal adrenals on necropsy and pathology -- our only one who lost body fur like that without an adrenal related cause. (We have one now who had a clean bilateral removal years ago who loses trunk fur with stress but her follicles were greatly compromised by her adrenals years ago so that is why.)
I've heard of others mention malformed jaws that can't open fully, making dental care and anesthesia difficult, and of folks who have mentioning intestinal problems that didn't fit the normal ones (though I can't recall the specifics). I seem to recall someone talking about blindness at times being related.
I guess that the logical thing may be just to start the biannual exams and tests earlier with these ferrets just to be safest.
I'm sure others will weigh in with what they have encountered or read on this score.