From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2008-09-18 17:42:03 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Spaying Questions and Pivot's choices: a female in first estrus at 7 months of age
To: fhl <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
We are learning a lot about bringing a female out of estrus.
INFORMATION IS VERY WELCOME!
One question we don't know the answer to is whether spaying would stop
the fighting that this ferret and another have too often. No one gets
hurt, but the battling berthas are at it often enough that Pivot tends
to have regularly emptied scent glands. We're actually more worried
about the one she argues with, Mornie, because sometime Mornie will
just hole up under a trunk to avoid Pivot. As a result Mornie is
getting a lot of "Mornie Time" in other rooms with us.
We have no intention of breeding Pivot ever.
That means our current options are:
1. spay now
2. medically end estrus now
We'd LIKE to wait till Pivot is over a year before spaying. In the
charts of adrenal disease onset there is not an significant difference
between an early spay and spaying at her current age. After a year of
age there might be a difference.
On the other hand, that is hypothetical whereas Morney's problem is
real so I'd love to know if ferrets who are spayed at this age are
less likely to pick fights after being spayed because perhaps we
should just have her have surgery now.
We also live in hope that deslorelin of the right implant size will
finally be okayed for use in the U.S. because there is then the chance
that regular implants can be used instead of spaying. We are not in
the least holding our breaths, but it has been on the table for some
time so maybe we could all get lucky soon...
Here are the medical option details:
The GnRH approach is written to be less prone to complications
compared to hCG. Gonadorelin is a synthetic GnRH but hard to find,
though our vet will talk with Penn Vet Supply.
_Essentials of Ferrets, A guide for practitioners_ on page 31 says
GnRH
20 mcg/ferret once IM
10 days after estrus (which for her was the 16th for full estrus)
(Repeat in 14 days if no response.)
CBC to check for anemia if estrus extends 21 days or longer
ALTERNATIVE
Human chorionic gonadotropin
100 IU animal IM
repeat in 14 days IF NO RESPONSE (this part differs from below)
Pg 443 of _Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents , Medicine and Surgery, 2nd
ed_ says
Human chorionic gonadotropin
100 IU animal IM
repeat in 14 days
for ferrets
Page 494 of _Ferret Husbandry, Medicine and Surgery_ has
Proligestone (long acting progestogen)
50 mg SC
in no response then 25 mg more can be given 7 days after and if needed
another 14 days after the original
ALTERNATIVE
hCG
100 IU IM
repeat in 14 days
ALTERNATIVE
Buserelin acetate
o.25 mL IM
repeat in 14 days
I know that deslorelin is being used elsewhere so i asked a ferret
endocrinology expert about using Lupron if we have difficulty getting
the needed meds, and was told that "LH, Lupron and Des will all
work". (Since the person did not say a dose I guess if she did not
respond we'd try more.)
All estrus drugs are first used 10 days after full estrus begins. In
full estrus the vulva is open and damp, before then it is swollen but
dry. Pivot took 6 days to reach full estrus from the beginning. I've
been told it can happen suddenly or can even take weeks to reach the
full stage. On the 10th she simply smelled different when we got home
from Whizbang's follow-up ultrasound so i checked her even though she
had been checked that morning and her vulva was beginning to enlarge.
After 21 days in full estrus it is necessary to check for anemia.
All of our ferrets right now are rather nervous since Pivot began full
heat, with her to most so even though she is also far more cuddly than
usual. She also has a strong odor and her poofs have changed for the
much worse. I don't particularly mind her estrus odor much, but Steve
does.
INFORMATION IS VERY WELCOME!
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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