Dear Rebecca:
 
>My albino male ferret, 4-5 yrs old, is losing his fur.  Only his tail
>lost fur first, so I thought it was some type of acne which I read about
>in a book about ferrets.  Unfortunately, now he is thinning ALL OVER.
>
>   -   He is still very active.
>  -   Still eating well.
>  -   Still having good bowel movements.
>  -   No other obvious symptoms or problems.
>
>just hoping perhaps there is something I could administer or do without
>incurring a huge, insurmountable VET bill....
>
>     -   Is Echinacea harmful for him?
>    -   Is there any other Herbal Remedy that may help him?
>     -   Any specific diet I should put him on?
 
I am fairly certain that you probably have already identified the most
likely cause of the hair loss as adrenal disease (hence the worry about an
insurmountable vet bill).  Unfortunately, the most appropriate therapy -
and the only one shown to be curative for this condition in ferrets - is
surgical.
 
I am not an herbalist, so please take my comments as coming from a
traditionalist DVM, pathologist and cynic: Herbal remedies, as available
commercially today, are unlikely to hurt your ferret in prescribed doses,
but are also unlikely to help.  Even traditional medicines have not been
shown to be effective against adrenal neoplasms - some like Lupron may
help with some symptoms, but do not treat the root cause - a tumor in the
adrenal gland.  Dietary manipulation may assist with some of the dry skin
that may be seen in some adrenal ferrets, but once again, cannot be used
as therapy in these cases.
 
Perhpas one day we will come up with an inexpensive home remedy that is
effective, but right now, it's not out there.  My best suggestion is to
visit the vet early before the disease progresses further, and come up
with a definitive solution that you can pay off over time.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3303]