Message Number: SG5207 | New FHL Archives SearchFrom: "Steve & Becky McMall"
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 22:26:32 -0500
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Subject: mast cell tumors and hair loss
Message-ID: <002301c341dc$11105740$6601a8c0@D7Y35H11>
One of our male ferrets, Max, had lost most of the hair on his back, start=
ing with his guard hairs. He still had a nice full tail. We suspected adr=
enal, and
planned to do a sonogram. Well, he had a couple of large mast cell tumors=
on his back and under his arm. While reading about them, I found a one se=
ntence
blurb that mast cell tumors could cause hair loss. He was also very itchy =
all the time (they release histamine). Last Friday we had the tumors remov=
ed and
already Max is regrowing his hair and has stopped the excessive scratching!=
I =
wanted to bring this possibility up for those owned by ferrets to consider =
when
a ferret is losing hair and scratching excessively. Of course, adrenal pro=
blems can cause the same symptoms. In Max's case, the hair loss did not fo=
llow the typical patterns for adrenal problems.
Send comments to Pam at pjdutche@email.unc.edu. Please note that this address is only useful for questions about the FHL archive. Questions about ferret health, or those intended for the FHL, should be sent to the Ferret Health List.