Litttle Karat, of Ferret Police fame, has a typical ferret problem.
At one year old, she went into heat.  The vet promptly spayed her.  Then at
two years old, she presented with a swollen vulva again, plus rapid hair loss
leading to complete baldness.  This time, skin scrapings showed mites, so she
received two injections of Ivermectin.
Warned that she probably had an endocrine disorder, I took her home for
observation.  Instead of a pen in the carport, since it was getting hot, I put
her in the downstairs workshop.  We breed some birds down there, have Vita
lites and windows, etc.  This must have reduced her daylight.  Her vulva
shrunk to normal.  All her hair grew back.  We were thrilled.  She spent late
winter and early spring outdoors in a very large pen with her two buddies.  Of
course, a little after her third birthday, she swelled up again, and has been
so for two or three weeks.  So far, only normal spring hair loss.  Well, she's
back inside now.  (They all come inside when it gets hot.)  Could we have bits
of misplaced ovarian tissue causing this?  Or is it more likely the usual
ferret disorder?  She'll have to start with blood work on Tuesday, no doubt.
I'm wishing her condition would just recede since I brought her in.  BTW she
smells outrageous, while the others are odor-free.  Poor Karat.
                          Karen Vance, Ga
[Posted in FML issue 1193]