>Second, our first urinary challenge with him: Hobbes immediately took
>to urinating in small amounts in a number of places around the room.  It
>didn't appear that he was having problems urinating or that he was in
>any pain (he drinks more water than any other ferret I've ever seen and
>is eating us out of house and home!).  We took him to the vet (very,
>very ferret knowledgable) for the general check up but also for fear of
>adrenal (shelter mom mentioned that peeing like that may be a sign of
>adrenal).
 
Not a bad thought - male ferret, hyperestrogenism often results in marking
behavior.
 
>thoroughly checked him out with this problem in mind, and mentioned
>that the adrenals didn't feel enlarged but perhaps he had some kind of
>infection, so we're on Clavamox.
 
Let's not rule it out yet - it's still at the top of the list.  Normal
sized adrenals are not something that you can really feel with any
veracity, and you can have hyperfunctioning adrenal lesions which don't
result in adrenal enlargement.  Bottom line - just because you can't feel
the adrenals, doesn't mean they aren't the cause of the problem.
 
I wish we knew more about his history and how long this problem has been
going on.  Incontinence is unusual in male ferrets, and the rare cases I
have seen have been anatomic in origin - urinary diverticula, aberrant
ureters, etc.  Should the additional adrenal evaluation not be productive,
a possibility is contrast studies of the bladder.
 
>Third, our second urinary challenge: This morning, I noticed him
>drinking his own urine from a small pool on the floor.  He may have
>been doing this for some time, but this was the first time I noticed.  I
>checked the FML archives for guidance, but only came up with 3
>conclusions:
>1, this happens to many ferrets, usually male; 2, at least one person
>thinks that it may be a sign of diabetes (MAJOR concern because we give
>nutrical as a treat); and 3, at least one person thinks that it may be a
>sign of adrenal.
 
I'll buy off on #1, but I don't think there is any evidence for #2 or #3.
#2 is easy - get a urine dipstick from your vet and check for glucose.
While diabetes will result in excess urination, it is usually controlled,
and the animals often have noticeable signs of excessive thirst and
excessive urination, and may show weight loss.  There will be glucose in
the urine, and a dipstick will pick it up.
 
Well, that's a place to start (or several).
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
 
Join the Ferret Health List at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
[Posted in FML issue 3357]