From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2004-12-02 19:45:22 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Sparse Coat
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <7206078.1102016722169.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
> 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.
Ruth, I am so glad that you followed up on that.
Here in the U.S. I don't personally think that most ferrets get it, either,=
though I know there are those who disagree with me, as well as some who fi=
gure that toward the end of life there may be a number with undiagnosed adr=
enal disease.
Our own household rate is about 1/3. I also know that we have had two who =
lost fur for other reasons without their follicles being damaged first by a=
drenal disease. One was on long term steroids which can cause fur loss, an=
d the other lost it for unknown reasons. After her hypertrophic cardiomyop=
athy took the one who lost fur for unknown reasons that ferret had an exten=
sive necropsy (and was used to help teach ferrets to other vets) as well as=
having pathology done. She had no adrenal disease of any type found in ei=
ther adrenal. =
The third one (in 23 years) who used to lose fur had follicle damage from p=
revious adrenal disease and in years after she would lose fur for any form =
of stress if the stress was high enough. We have never had another obvious=
ly do that (though perhaps extreme physical stress was the case with little=
lady who had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) and suspect that she would not h=
ave done so if her follicles hadn't been compromised. =
I guess I am saying that our own experience is that it normally takes adren=
al disease or perhaps some other very serious physical stressor to cause fu=
r to be lost enough to cause bare areas. =
Then again, it may be that some populations differ in how easily they are a=
ble to lose fur from causes of stress, so maybe some are just genetically m=
ore able to drop fur easily. It could make sense that there can be such ge=
netic variation; for instance in talking with friends who are in the far no=
rth of Europe they say that their ferrets and local polecats seem to be les=
s rapidly reactive to light levels in relation to fur changes than we perso=
nally have experienced here. (And there is some speculation that in only h=
undreds of years the people of Greenland MIGHT have less of a depressive ef=
fect from low light levels in Winter than people in many parts of the U.S.,=
and that it MIGHT be a survivors genetic effect, so MAYBE such changes can=
happen pretty rapidly in mammals.)
Having whole ferrets does certainly seem to reduce (but not eliminate) the =
chances of encountering adrenal disease, and providing enough complete dark=
ness -- which lets the body produce enough of its own melatonin in the pine=
al gland also seems to do so. Both of these are still more common in some =
parts of Europe than here, I think.
Still, the numbers I have read encountered in the Netherlands seem very lik=
e what we encounter personally: higher than the rate of insulinoma, certai=
nly enough to be called "common" but about 1/3 so certainly far from a majo=
rity. =
(Household info: With one exception -- a retired breeder who was spayed th=
en -- our ferrets have all been early neuters and for most (but not all) of=
the years we have provided a lot of complete darkness. When we went throu=
gh bouts of NOT being able to provide a lot of complete darkness we soon af=
ter had a very few early adrenal cases. Most of our ferrets through the ye=
ars have had full necropsies and pathology at death until finances made tha=
t impossible for all. Our 4th ferret was our first with adrenal disease; i=
n his case as part of our first lymphoma clump rather than from adrenal hyp=
erplasia. The incidence rate in our ferrets does seem to have increased fr=
om the first decade to these later years, and we had no early adrenal cases=
until sometime in the last decade plus. We have had one ferret who lost b=
oth adrenals prophylactically because he was having surgery for a severe ur=
inary bladder malformation and resultant stones problem and the vet needed =
to tackle anything which might contribute or might latger challenge his uri=
nary ability. Interestingly, although he had no outward signs of adrenal p=
roblems and he was below a year in age he did have indications that he migh=
t be just starting some hyperplasia -- then again he had hydronephrosis so =
perhaps that caused a reactive process.)
Anyway, it really is true that if something isn't looked for then it isn't =
seen, and I do think that may play a part in lower reports of adrenal disea=
se in other areas. It may also be that ferrets in some regions are more pr=
one to other possible causes like skin diseases, responses, to stresses, et=
c. than here so those other cause may need to looked at more often than her=
e in the U.S. where vets usually have found that unproductive. Some may be=
less genetically prone to adrenal disease, though some breeders in the U.S=
. report similar rates between their original populations and the ones they=
have imported. I also suspect that the tendency of many of our members ov=
er the pond to have whole ferrets (who have their own realm of serious heal=
th problems not seen in altered and spayed ferrets) and to provide darkness=
more could cut the rate. =
=
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