From:
ruth@ferretsabout.co.uk
Date: 2004-12-02 13:24:30 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Sparse Coat
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <1541305.1101993870422.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
I am inclined to agree with Ulrike when she says that adrenal disease may be more common in the UK than people think. Like Ulrike, I suspect that until recently people were not aware that the syptoms that occurred in ferrets were related to adrenal disease.
I say this because a friend of mine has a completely bald ferret, and from what I can glean from the owner, the ferret hasn't had the specific hormone measurements required to exclude adrenal disease. Additionally, I have recently heard of two other bald ferrets that weren't screened for adrenal disease so there seems to be quite a few bald ferrets around but the cause of their problem hasn't been diagnosed.
I myself have a ferret with fully diagnosed adrenal disease, but because I am aware of the (many) symptoms of adrenal disease, I took the ferret to vets who had an interest in ferrets, and who I knew would follow up to get a full diagnosis.
I am not saying adrenal disease is common in the UK, I just don't believe it is rare.
Having said that, my understanding, as a non-vet, is that sparse hair is a symptom of quite a few other conditions which need to be excluded before worrying about adrenal disease.
Author wrote:
> Hi Angela
> I think adrenal disease is more common in the UK as you would think. I
> think as pet ferret owners and vets become more aware of possible health
> problems, adrenal disease will be more often diagnosed. I think most people
> and even vets just do not know about adrenal disease, especially if they
> have no Internet or don't read up about ferret illnesses.
> I've had 2 ferrets with adrenal carcinoma and a few with adrenal hyperplasia
> I don't know if the hyperplasia would cause any adrenal symptoms but it
> was found during the autopsy and the ferrets had a thin, coarse coat.
> Ulrike
>
> West Wales Ferret Welfare
> ferretlove@dsl.pipex.com
> ferretlove_uk@yahoo.co.uk
> http://www.ferretlove.co.uk
> Last update 23/10/04
> -------Original Message-------
>
> I have a 4.5 year old spayed jill who 2 weeks after a distemper vaccination
> her fur has gone thin and has fallen out in places. She has lost about an
> inch on the base of her tail and is thin all over. I haven't seen it get any
> worse over about 2 months, but it hasn't got any better either.
>
> It was odd because we woke up one day to find her fur missing!! I took her
> to the vets and he thought the vaccine (it is a dog one) could have knocked
> her immune system for six and made her fur fall out. The other possibility
> is that it could be adrenal - so we are just waiting to see if her coat
> either grows back or if she displays any other adrenal symtoms (which she's
> not at the moment). Other than that she appears well.
>
> Just to say that I'm in the UK - how common is adrenal in the UK?
>
> Angela
>