From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2009-05-18 01:49:56 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] hair loss
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi,
Hair loss on the tail can be caused by any number of things but I=B4ve
never heard of old age being a reason. It isn=B4t necessarily adrenal
disease. My Ella (now seven) gets rat tail twice a year in the spring
and fall. She always regrows the hair pretty quickly with her new
coat. I=B4ve also seen where a ferret had little blackheads and skin
irritation together with rat tail. That was probably nine or ten
years ago with Adric and I honestly forget what my vet called the
problem or what he gave to correct it.
Could the cause be adrenal? Sure it could. Chin Soon lost hair first
on her tail. Then the hair loss spread to other places and we knew
what we were likely dealing with.
If you suspect adrenal some non-invasive testing (TN panel or
ultrasound) is probably a good idea. At age eight you likely will
consider non-surgical treatment options. We had a ferret named Podo
who had adrenal at roughly age seven and a half. He was otherwise
healthy and really strong so our vet did opt for surgery. It turned
out to be a right adrenal tumor and our vet ligated the vena cava and
removed it. Two years later Podo had adrenal symptoms again. By this
point not only was he really, really old but he also had
cardiomyopathy and insulinoma. Surgery was completely out of the
question. Lupron, the monthly depot, completely relieved his symptoms
and he did regrow his hair where he had lost it. I suspect on most
eight year old ferrets lupron would probably be the preferred
treatment.
The usual disclaimer applies: I am not a vet, just a moderately
experienced ferret owner.
Here=B4s hoping it=B4s not adrenal.
All the best,
Caity and the terrific trio
http://www.ferretsofdisorder.co.cc
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