From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2012-02-15 00:38:28 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Re: Insulinoma Question but drifted into new topics (Reply to Kim's question)
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Altering is a difficult topic and probably not related to insulinoma (the subject title that still appears -- in part -- above to prevent the messages from being separated in the digests) but it IS related to adrenal disease. Surgically altering -- at ANY age -- removes the reproductive tissues that can scream "Stop!" with some hormonal signals that get too strong or last too long.
Perhaps after this message an entire new subject line should be used?
On the other hand, a larger percentage of females who are left whole are going to be at risk of dying from anemia due to prolonged estrus than are probably subject to getting adrenal disease, and many males wind up gotten rid of if they are whole and begin sliming, plus, more people are allergic to whole males , sometimes dangerously so including if they are also allergic to cats.
That is why the best solution ultimately for avoiding the high and prolonged FSH levels which can trigger adrenal disease while also avoiding life threatening problems of being left whole for many ferrets MIGHT wind up being an annual Suprelorin implant. The next time we wind up with a whole kit I suspect we will go that way because it MIGHT be the best of both worlds. That said, the very longterm studies on that are still going on in Europe so it is best to not draw firm conclusions until enough data appears in juried journals when such studies are finished.
Many people who begin shelters have had ferrets for years before becoming shelters, and that is a very, very good thing. Personally, I like the people to have enough years behind them with ferrets that they have a strong grasp of ferret health problems, the related costs, recognizing problems, avoiding problems, etc. before they consider becoming shelters. I think that caution can save ferrets and it certainly helps prevent people getting in far deeper than they can handle (which also helps ferrets, in turn). That isn't to say that some people have not learned a heck of a lot incredibly fast and invested an awful lot of their money and their friends help when they got in deeper than they expected; it's just to say there is a gentler approach which may work better than becoming a shelter too early, so Debi's note of when she became a shelter does not tell when she first had ferrets and therefore does not negate her comments the lifespans she herself has seen.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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