From:
"sukiedaviscrandall"
Date: 2010-03-18 06:45:37 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Health Question
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Okay, here is one thing that Steve and I have noticed,
but people HAVE to take it in a constructive way because
adopting shelter ferrets is important and needs to be done
especially by those who are able to provide for veterinary
needs.
We've noticed that the ones we have adopted from
shelters who were older than young kits were more
prone to many health problems, especially endocrinological
ones.
Now, we do NOT think that has had anything to do with the
shelters from which we got them. We think that those ferrets
were paying for living through some rough times BEFORE
they wound up in the shelters, so it would never surprise me
if rescue ferrets wind up more prone to things like adrenal
disease and insulinoma, nor if families which preferentially
adopt see higher rates than those with fewer adoptees.
Remember that the lead time for some types of growths can
be rather long. For the one specific form of lymphoma that
ferrets can get which appears to be from a previous viral infection
(See
http://www.afip.org/consultation/vetpath/ferrets/PDF/Lymphoma_Ferrets.pdf
because that is NOT one of the more common forms.)
the lead time appears to be about 3 years on average. So, maybe
some of the ferrets who had rough backgrounds show problems
for which the stage was actually set a few years ago.
What does this mean? Well, I guess that it means that just as with
other individual differences that can predispose individuals to
health problems (whether they are having certain markings or
already having deformities -- something with which I'm familiar
because when we could afford to do so we took in ones with
such problems purposely -- or...) if a ferret comes from a shelter
then the adoptive family needs to be more vigilant and needs to
remember that the chances of health problems in later years may
be higher, depending on how hard the background of the ferret was
(and remember that some people leaving off ferrets will pretend to
have provided better conditions than they actually did provide).
------------------------------------
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