Dr Williams:
 
I want to thank you for writing regarding my post.  Knowing that you're not
feeling well and still took the time to post makes me appreciate it even
more.  I respect your opinion very much, and if you feel the need to "bash"
my vet (Dr. King) for his actions, I very much want to hear it, because I
only want the best for my ferrets.  I can't deny that I was hoping Dr. King
was doing the right thing, especially since finding ferret-knowledgeable
vets around here is almost impossible, but one of the reasons I post about
visits to the vet is so that I can hear from the FML whether he is a good
ferret vet or not.  Guess I found out he's not such a good ferret vet.
 
About the vetalog.  It may have prevented a reaction (perhaps not -
Templeton might not have reacted this time around), but the vetalog may
have actually made the vaccine ineffective?  This really upsets me!  Here
I put my trust in a vet, and he does something he should know better than
do!  For the record, this was a one-time incident - Templeton has never
received a vetalog injection before this.  You say that the distemper
vaccine "should" take effect in this case.  Should I have Templeton
re-vaccinated just to be safe, or wait until next year?
 
About the ivermectin.  Dr. King did mention mites (and something else that
escapes me) when he said there was something he could give Templeton to
relieve the itch.  He didn't do a skin scrape or do anything more than look
through the hair (not difficult, since Templeton's coat is pretty sparse
about now), and he took a closer look at his skin.  The impression I got
was that the ivermectin would probably relieve the itch, no matter what
the cause, and apparently felt there was no harm in giving him a dose.  He
asked me to let him know how Templeton did over the next couple of weeks as
far as whether his itching was helped by the ivermectin.  So far, it has,
but if the itch is due to adrenal, what's a better treatment (besides the
obvious: surgery).  Would any ointments (or something else) work?
 
I don't believe Dr. King actually diagnosed Templeton as having Cushing's
Disease, but he mentioned that.  (He mentioned dogs in the same breath, but
he lost me on the whole conversation at this point - I was only half paying
attention once I knew he wouldn't be able to diagnose or treat adrenal.)
Sounds like he thinks Templeton has Adrenal because of his symptoms, but
wasn't sure because of the hair coming back on his tail, and he doesn't
have the means to do an ultrasound at his facility.  From what folks around
here have told me, they think highly of this vet for their cats and dogs,
and he apparently has seen lots of ferrets in his practice over the years,
but he refers possible adrenal cases to Cornell University for diagnosis
and surgery.  My choices around here are sorely limited, and I'm really in
a quandary over what to do.  I have no contact with any ferret owners in my
area, although I think there are a few around, so have no idea if they've
been able to find a good ferret vet in this area.  If you (or anyone!) know
of any good ferret vet within a two-hour drive of here, I'll probably go to
him/her!  (Where do you practice, Dr. Williams?  I wish my ferrets were
coming to you!!)
 
One correction: Templeton hasn't actually been officially diagnosed with
Adrenal disease.  I'm pretty sure that's what he has, and was hoping to
find a vet who could confirm it.  I wish I could find someone willing to
take a blood sample to send for the U of TN panel, or that could perform an
ultrasound to determine if Templeton is a good surgical candidate.  Or is
it just better to open him up?  Templeton's symptoms: late November/early
December, he suddenly lost all the hair on his tail except for a thin strip
at the top, and within about a week, he lost most of the hair all along
both flanks.  His coat has never been very thick or soft (it's always been
course/dry and thin for the three years I've had him - he was about two
when I got him).  He doesn't seem to have lost hair along the neck,
shoulders, ears, or toes.  He does seem heavier with a fuller abdomen, but
I don't know his pre-symptom weight so I can't be sure (previous vet never
weighed the ferrets, or did much of anything with them).  Templeton's quite
often aggressive toward our smallest female, where he's gotten along with
everyone before now.  Almost overnight, in January Templeton's tail hair
grew back - his tail looks better than it ever has - but the hair on his
flanks is still quite thin.  A key event happened at our house about the
same time as Templeton's loss of tail hair: I brought home an eight-week
old ferret the day after Thanksgiving.  I could attribute his aggression
toward the female as misplaced aggression toward the baby (they aren't
allowed contact, because he literally attacks the baby whenever he's given
the opportunity), but I don't think all his other symptoms can be blamed on
the new ferret, can they?  Is this all a coincidence, or does this really
sound like Adrenal?  I really wish I knew what to do for Templeton, or
where to take him for help.
 
Debbie
Brae, Templeton, Sally, Phoebe and Klondike
[Posted in FML issue 3328]