From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-09-18 22:08:41 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] RE: Adrenal disease
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <2364207.1127081321926.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Author wrote:
> Indeed the study showed what was surmised long ago Mike,
> That neutered ferrets will without hormonal intervention develop this
> adrenal related compromise. It makes perfect (common) sense to me!
> Alicia D
Remember that it is NOT sterilization alone (and certainly some whole ferrets have gotten adrenal disease). What looks to be going on is a combination of sterilization with too much light exposure.
Increased light exposure (i.e. too little complete darkness) reduces the melatonin amounts made by the pineal gland, just as happens with Spring coming, and some artificial indoor lights seem to be good at doing this unwanted thing.
The decrease in melatonin causes the pituitary to increase its production of LH and FSH.
Now, if a ferret is whole there can be a hormonal feedback loop, but non-reproductive hormone producing tissues can't say, "Shut up." to the pituitary.
So, it is not sterilization alone and it is not too much light exposure alone.
BTW, we try to always provide a LOT of access to complete darkness at any time and have done that for ages, it seeming only logical for animals descended from crepuscular activity (dawn and dusk) animals living in purloined burrows. It is also a very old ferreting thing to do at least in parts of Britain -- something done for centuries. Only one of the ferrets here was not an early sterilized one. Our rate of adrenal growths in our family is a tad below 1/3 during a ferret's lifetime, with most occuring after age 5 years.