Hi,
 
I was just wondering if someone has experienced this problem before, heard
about it, or maybe could just ease my mind.
 
We have a girl ferret, nikki, who is almost a year old.  I would say that
she has been losing weight over the last 2 weeks or so maybe, but the
realization of exactly how much weight she had lost didn't really hit me or
my husband until a couple of days ago.  Also, it has become apparent to me
that instead of her fur "changing colors" like I thought it was doing, she
is actually losing her guard hairs on her back, letting her under coat show
through more.
 
That's the bad stuff.  Now here's what hasn't changed.  She is still eating
what appears to be normally, (I have really been watching her the last
couple of days.) She has also remained as active as ever, with maybe just a
slight slow down over the last day or so, but not much.  Also, in general
she is sleeping a bit more during the cold weather.  We put her in a cage by
herself last night, so she would have complete access to food, (no other
ferrets distracting her) and I noticed that her stool looked normal.
 
When I called the vet today, (can't get her in until next week) she
suggested that nikki may have a hyper thyroid, and she also mentioned
diabetes.  I will get her in next week to get blood work done.
 
One other thing that you may consider a factor, we got a new ferret about a
week and a half ago.  Now, the new girl (no name yet ;p) and nikki seem to
get along fine.  In fact I have never seen her fight with her at all.  Also,
new girl appears healthy, she's going to the vet next week too, and none of
my other ferrets are showing the symptoms nikki is.
 
Of course the first thing that popped into my head when my husband mentioned
nikki was losing hair, not changing colors, was the dreaded adrenal disease.
However, I guess when people talked about their ferrets losing their hair
because of this, I always kind of imagined it like clumps of hair falling
out.  I also would have assumed that she would act much sicker than she is.
These are the things that are making me feel better right now.  But like I
said, I didn't know these things as facts, just kind of thought that's how
it was.  Maybe someone could set me straight on that too.
 
Anyway, I would appreciate any feedback on personal experiences, or any
advise.
 
Thanks,
 
 Serra ( and Ringo, Nikki, Chili, Dexter, and ;P the new girl)
[Posted in FML issue 1833]