From:
"christinah"
Date: 2011-05-04 00:09:53 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] My vet says possible Adrenal Disease, but I'd appreciate other opinions!!
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi! I adopted my ferret in February, 3 months ago. She's probably 5. The previous owner said she scratched herself often. I took her to the vet and they treated her, and the other ferret that came with her, for ear mites. She hasn't stopped scratching. She has slight hair loss on the tip of her tail, which isn't visible unless you part the hair and look. Her skin on the tip looked abnormal, and the vet said she has tail blackheads. The fur on her tail has turned a yellow color and has become coarse.
The 2 other odd things are after she goes potty she turns her butt downwards, towards, the floor, and walks kind of funny for several steps, and then she walks normally again. I've read about an enlarged vulva being a symptom of A.D., and she doesn't, but the soft part of her lower tummy, above her private parts, looks enlarged. It has since I got her though.
My vet put her on a prescription cat food which is supposed to by hypo-allergenic, as she thought Allie had a food allergy. She's been eating it for 3 weeks now and has diarrhea from it. (I was supposed to fix the cat food and her regular ferret food 50/50, but she loves the cat food and only eats it.) My vet said it could take 6 weeks to work, but, now, on the 3rd week, my vet thinks she has adrenal and wants to start treating her for it. The scratching is definitely a sign of something, but I don't think these symptoms add up from what I've been reading.
To recap:
-scratches frequently all over and has for several months
-walks funny after going to the bathroom, butt pointed downwards (only recently)
-enlarged lower tummy (since before i got her - may be natural)
-yellow tail with blackheads at the tip (only recently)
-NO HAIR LOSS
Please help!
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