Is there anything besides adrenal that would cause hair to fall out?
I have three of different ages in different degrees of baldness.  The
baldest, a 5 year old girl, had just had her "overactive" adrenal removed,
the other checked, and everything else inside checked and cleared when she
began to go bald.  I also have a 5 year old male who is a little thin, not
really bald except on the top side of his tail.  The underside is thin, but
not bald.  He's had this problem for quite some time, since a lump on the
end of his tail made it necessary to remove the very tip of his tail.  The
third is a 2.5 year old male who started going bald just at the shoulder
blades, where they wrestle and bite each other, but now, a couple of months
later, he is fairly bald on most of his back.  We don't overbathe them,
only when they start smelling.  Should we bathe them more?  Our other two
are just as fluffy as ever.  Are these three allergic to the food, or
possibly something in the air?  We moved a year ago, and changed their food
shortly after.  Not too long after, we began having problems, but we feed
Totally Ferret now, which should be better for their coat.
 
Our bedroom, where they have free run, is not as bright as our old house,
we now have gas heat, which is new to their lives, and we are now in a
different state.  Could any of these factors mean three ferrets are thin
coated, two are fine?  We are intending to have the vents cleaned as soon
as we refinance the house later this month (or when interest rates drop
again, whichever is first).  Please respond to my home address if you can
help or give me a suggestion to check with my vet.  We'd like to avoid
expensive adrenal testing if other causes (that may not require sticking
them) can be explored first.  They seem otherwise healthy.  It is hard to
tell if they are thinner, since the coat makes them look fatter anyway, but
they play and eat and do everything else like they always have.  If they
are not as fat as they should be, it is not extreme and they have been
maintaining whatever weight they have since their coats were thinning.
 
I appreciate any help you can throw my way.
 
D
[Posted in FML issue 3349]