From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-09-19 17:22:50 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] RE: Adrenal disease
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <6559947.1127150570244.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Well, if you look at page 7 it is pointed out that this is first report on prevalence.
They say that Weiss and Scott reported a 20 to 25 percent rate but that was a selected population.
So, no one really knows.
We live in a small condo (expensive area) so space limitations and condo rules prevent us from doing some of the things others can do. Our ferrets are not whole, and in almost 25 years only one has been a late alter. We have equipment with their "I am on" lights in the ferret's room because we simply have no option even though it makes us feel guilty, and we can use curtains but not shutters, but we can do things like use a cage cover, provide covered furniture and other dark places for romp time (most of the time, and provide cloth bedding). We see a bit under a third in our family getting adrenal neoplasia, usually at ages over 5 years.
On two extremes from pers. coms I've gotten:
1. one sweet person whom I envy on this score who can provide full darkness in a room for part of the time in every 24 hour period (including using hurricane shutters which are quite dramatically better than curtains) has had no cases at all in the decade snce she began doing that.
2. another person who has a small home and works at nights from home has had a 100% rate of adrenal neoplasia in her ferrets.
Chris, didn't you once say that when you first began having ferrets that an old ferreter took you aside and told you that they needed darkness or they would sicken?