From:
julie_fossa@yahoo.com
Date: 2005-07-23 17:27:53 UTC
Subject: RE: Precious'' tail
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <3710758.1122139673137.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Chrissy, years ago, we did surgery and pathology on every ferret surrendered to the shelter that had rat-tail. All came back with abnormal pathology results.
Then I started including ferrets that just had the last inch or so, showing hairloss. Adrenal surgery and pathology. All were abnormal, and again, all signs resolved unless the other gland was involved.
Then I started including all ferrets surrendered that had thinning of their coat on the tail with or without orange dandruff-like dermatitis or blackheads. Again, all pathology came back saying the glands were abnormal.
I rarely send adrenal tumors out for pathology anymore unless we get one that looks really interesting. We even had one little male with a retained testicle that had a 'cauliflower-like' growth on it. Pathology came back saying it was an adrenal tumor!
Adrenal disease isn't like a light switch; they don't have it/now they do. It's a progression, and you need to decide at which point you are going to intercede. Sadly, the degree of involvement based on the external signs, which there are many, very often does not match with what your vet will find when they open your little ferret.
The fur may grow back. That doesn't mean your ferret doesn't have adrenal disease. Signs will come back, and the growth will only have had time to get bigger/worse/malignant. One of my males was malignant by the time he showed signs.
Sometimes the only sign is a behavioral change (aggression or mothering). A two year old female's vulva swelled and she was operated on the following week. It had already invaded her vena cava and liver. She lived less than 2 months after her surgery. Not even long enough to recover and give me time to get her into a different surgeon capable of helping her.
Hershey Kisses chewed the hair off the tip of her tail when she was overdue for her Lupron Depot. Stress. I believe stress caused by adrenal disease is one reason a lot of ferrets get ulcers.
As a shelter mom, I'm seeing adrenal signs in younger and younger ferrets.
At the St. Louis Symposium, one of the vets, during Q&A, stated 'all hairloss on the tail is adrenal'. (get your copy of the transcripts when they are available!) I couldn't agree more.
Julie
****
I'm soooooooo scared this is going to be another case of the dreaded "A" disease that took my beloved Dakota from me last weekend. *
> Chrissy