Message Number: SG6837 | New FHL Archives Search
From: sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2003-12-04 20:34:38 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] RE: Angora and missing undercoat?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <3845036.1070570078179.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>

Author wrote:
> Out of the eleven ferrets I've had, all but two have had severe health
> problems before the age of five. Whether they came from Marshall Farms, or
> a local breeder, or Sorren Thinngard (Ferpharm), it doesn't matter. I've
> always thought this is the norm.

No, your experience is anything BUT the norm form what I have read and what I have experienced.

The majority of our ferrets over the 21 years we've had ferrets have been ones in trouble: ones with severe deformities, ones who arrive with health problems, abused ones, etc. They come froma variety of sources, most from farms. Despite their pasts most live to be in their 7th or 8th year (a few older, a few younger). I think in 21 years we have lost only two before the age of 5 years. Helix had Juvenile Lymphoma, and Chiclet had sepsis and celluitis.

The ones with major deformities, or who had bad ECE related damage, or bad dmage from things like parasites, injury or abuse obviously have probelms early but we got most past those health problems so that they went on to not have serious health problems till they were usually over 6 years of age. Obviously, with ones who arrived here with severe deformities or the two with IBD there were continuing problems from an early age.

We have never had an insulinoma case among our crew before the age of 6 so far if memory serves, and have had only had two with adrenal gland problems (but one was due to a vascular malformation on the left side) during the third year, and one had adenoma at the age of 5 but surgery saved her and she went on to have another 3 and 1/2 years. One other had adrenal problems at an unknown age; our vet thought that we were estimating her age too low -- if memory serves we were thinking 5 at that time but we have been thinking 4 -- with us thinking that because she was so active. He figured she may have been 2 years older than we were hoping that she was.

When we had a lymphoma clump we lost two at age 5 from that. (Lymphoma clumps are rare and very possibly the result of a silent viral exposure 2 or 3 years before, as per research done at MIT. We've had only two lympho clumps in 21 years. Most lympho cases are independent cases.)