Welcome back Dodie!
 
I'm not real sure if the numbers of adreanal cases have gone up in the past
few years, or if we've just learned to spot the symptoms better but...
 
We don't waste time & money on testing for adrenal diesease anymore.
 
We do an ultrasound to check for anything that might cause surgery
complications (like enlarged spleen, heart problems, etc) and to hopefully
get an idea of the size of the adreanals.  Sometimes the adrenals show up,
sometimes they don't, sometimes the image is misleading as to size.  We
have several great vets, all have about the same luck with ultrasounds.
(In other words, don't use ultrasound to diagnose adrenal diesease.)
 
We diagnose adrenal diesease solely on the clinical symptoms: loss of hair
on back of neck, and/or tail, and/or tops of toes, and/or backs of ears OR
fur that's become coarse, OR excessive itchyness, OR change to agressive
behaviour.  DON'T wait to see if hair that fell out & regrew is going to
fall out again... you're very likely going to be 6 months too late!
 
The reason we do this is actually two-fold.
 
First, there have been a couple of times that we diagnosed the diesease and
said "There's no big hurry, we can wait a few weeks for the expense to fit
into the budget a little better." Then, 6 weeks later, the "small" tumor on
the ultrasound, is now large and attached to the vena cava, or has caused
prostrate or urinary problems.
 
Second, almost every ferret we have over the age of 4 has now had adrenal
surgery.  10 out of 15 over the age of 3 (of our 20 personal ferrets)
have had adrenal surgery... plus 4 others that died last year from adrenal
complicated illnesses.  Plus our 18 month old Sniffles had bilateral
adrenal tumors.  These are just our personal ferrets... I'd have to drag
out a calculator to add up the shelter ferrets' adrenal surgeries.
 
The way this math is running... count on an adrenal surgery by age 4... &
count yourself lucky if it isn't sooner.  All but one of my ferrets were
rescues... some were from independent breeders, some Marshall Farms, some
late neuters.
 
Yes, there ARE other reasons for hair loss... but the above described hair
losses are invariably adrenal caused.
 
Just do the surgery & have done with while the ferret is healthy.  Waiting
is pointless.  Don't wait till it becomes inoperable.  It's a horrible way
to die.
 
Debi Christy
Ferrets First Foster Home
[Posted in FML issue 3327]