From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2010-03-18 13:23:51 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Re: Health Question
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
On 3/18/10, sukiedaviscrandall <sukie@mac.com> wrote:
>
> 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.
I agree with this. I think some of the high rates in our first
ferrets were because, to be quite honest, we didn't know what we were
doing. Later on when we only took in rescues I believe it was because
previous owners also didn't know what they were doing or simply didn't
take proper care of their ferrets.
I can't help thinking of Podo and Kodo, both of whom were diagnosed
with insulinoma not more than a year after we took them in. There
were some real questions about their age and history so I did all I
could to track it down. It turns out the previous owner thought grape
soda was a great treat for a ferret since Podo and Kodo loved it. Is
it any wonder they developed insulinoma after being given lots of
processed sugar?
Nowadays we are definitely doing better than before in terms of ferret
longevity despite still seeing relatively high disease rates. I
attribute it to excellent vet care, improving ferret medical knowledge
and the very simple fact that we know how to care for our ferrets
properly now. I do believe disease rates vary largely because of
environmental conditions, diet and proactive medical care or the lack
thereof. The genetic factors Karen cited are beyond our control.
Similarly, I attribute the differences in outcomes from various forms
of treatment, especially surgery, is more due to differences in
quality of vet care than anything else.
Regards,
Caity and the terrific trio (Ella, Zephyr and Chin Soon)
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