From:
juliegambone@hotmail.com
Date: 2003-05-30 01:34:24 UTC
Subject: thinning hair and PA vet recommendation?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <3028615.1054258464640.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
hello everyone. I have been keeping tabs on one of my little ones who began to show thinning hair on his back, near his hind legs, about two months ago. When we took the crew to the vet for shots, we had him look at our little boy (Snowball, 9 month old neutered male, DEW) and he said he was definitely losing some hair and that it could be signs of adrenal disease, but to just keep an eye on him to see if it got worse or if he began to show any other symptoms. Well, its been a month and a half since we were there and there has been little change. Snowball's thinning areas are a little more visible, but not much. He isn't bald anywhere by any means, but his coat is thinner in fairly large symmetrical areas one the rear part of his back and you can see his pink skin showing through. Has anyone had any similar experience?
I know that poor nutrition can cause coat changes, but I think we feed him a good diet (Zupreem, some Iams kitten as treat food). He hasn't shown any other signs of adrenal at all - never overly aggressive, no mating behaviors, not itching more than usual - Is there any other cause of thinning hair that I am missing? Should I get him tested for adrenal just in case?
Also, we have a vet who is ferret knowledgeable to an extent, but I don't think he sees all that many ferrets and I think we could find someone with more knowledge and experience with little fuzzbutts. Does anyone know a good vet in the Pittsburgh, PA area? I checked the vet database and only found three, and none with much info. Thanks everyone!
Julie