Dear Rich:
 
>I have a male ferret, age 4 1/2 that is exhibiting some behavior that I
>take as simply play.  I have been awakened by hissing and when I
>investigate, I find him with his mouth clamped down on a fold of skin
>from another ferret.  There is no puncture and when I dislodge him, he is
>playful.  I have heard that aggressive behavior is a sign of adrenal.
>Markie also has thinning of the tail and base of the tail.  Would the
>signs that he exhibits lead you to believe that he may indeed have adrenal
>disease?  I have also observed him run over to a corner raise his tail and
>then leave quickly.  Is this a sign of prostate problems linked with the
>adrenal?  Thank you
 
I am going to agree with you here.  You are correct in that ferrets with
adrenal disease may show signs of aggression as a result of hormonal
imbalances, however, this is not the same as saying that all aggressive
ferrets have adrenal disease.
 
Your letter well illustrates a common problem dealing with ferret medical
topics on the Internet - almost any action that a normal ferret does may
be interpreted as a symptom of one of the many diseases that ferrets may
develop over the course of a lifetime.  The action that you note about
backing into a corner and raising its tail - this may be simple marking
behavior, or as you note, it may be interpreted as a sign of dysuria or
constipation.
 
You have astutely attributed these to behavior rather than instantly
categorizing them as signs of adrenal disease and I applaud that.  Many
people would jump to the adrenal conclusion, but in truth, the most
important and damning symptoms of adrenal disease such as hair loss, are
not present in this case.
 
Diagnosis of disease is always the result of evaluation of a number of
symptoms, not just one or two peripheral ones.
 
No, there is nothing here that suggests imminent adrenal disease.  However,
playing the odds of owning a ferret from an American bloodline, let's
remain vigilant over the course of your ferrets lifetime.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3303]