From:
mkoronias@netscape.net
Date: 2005-04-15 14:00:57 UTC
Subject: Seasonally Reversed Ferret
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <7015884.1113573657547.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
I was wondering if anyone had encountered this before. My ferret Skippy see=
ms to have his seasons wrong. He is just over 2 and has done both falls/spr=
ings I've had him. He looses weight and his coat in the fall and gains weig=
ht and grows a nice coat in the spring. Since he is still young, the patter=
n is still pretty new to me but after 2 years of loosing weight in the wint=
er and gaining weight in the summer it does seem like a pattern to me. In J=
anuary I decided to get a complete work up done on him because I was afraid=
this backward pattern could indicate or be a precursor to some adrenal pro=
blems (and since I've experienced adrenal in ferrets as young as 1, I wante=
d to get a jump on it). After complete bloodwork, xrays, and exam by the lo=
cal ferret vet expert, I was told he was perfectly alright and not to worry=
. He has always been very active (more so than my other current 2) and only=
slows down a little when he gains his weight. My other 2 ferrets (also aro=
und the same age) are both undergoing the normal ferret spring speed up and=
sparcer coat, so I don't think it could be that I am doing something diffe=
rent with him (than others are doing with their ferrets). Anyway, I am conc=
erned because I know that Adrenal is tied into seasonal hormonal changes an=
d I don't want him to be more at risk because his seasons seem to be off. H=
as anyone else ever encountered this problem and what have they done to fix=
it? To be honest, after batteling to get some weight on him all winter (he=
's a bit skinny in the winter because he is so hyper), I'm rather happy he =
is a more normal weight again. =
Thanks,
Moscha =
=
=