Ray wrote on 4/18:
>After 5 months, Grace developed signs of heat, she had the required tattos.
> ... We tried depovera shots to possibly shrink the tissue.
 
My female, Chipper, (purchased at a local pet store w/guarantee of
altered/descented) was adopted at 7mos, and at 8mos had a swollen vulva.
One vet wanted to do $200 worth of hormone shots, etc.  before opening her
up, the other vet said it may be ovarian tissue which needed to be removed.
 
Motherly instinct (and her hormonal induced aggression) told me she was a
fully intact female - she was spayed the following week.  The pet store paid
the vet bill.  I know of three (3) other local ferrets, purchased at a pet
store, that were not spayed - whether the breeder/seller lied to the pet
store, I don't know.
 
From the FML FAQ:  Section 10,  Subject 10.1:
 
"Swollen vulva - In an unspayed female, she's probably going into heat,
especially if it's springtime.  For young spayed ferrets, under 18 months or
so, the most common problem is pieces of the ovary that were missed in the
spaying and have begun to produce hormones.  These pieces might be scattered
around the abdomen.  For older ferrets, however, by far the most common
cause of a swollen vulva is adrenal disease, usually cancer."
 
Section 11, Subject 11.2.1:
 
"B.  Aplastic Anemia: A common cause of death of unspayed breeding females.
The cause is a condition caused by high levels of the hormone estrogen that
is produced during the heat period which in turn suppresses the production
of vital red and white blood cells in the bone marrow.  This suppression is
irreversible as the disease advances and death occurs from severe anemia,
bleeding (because the blood can't clot properly), and secondary bacterial
infections because there aren't enough white blood cells to fight."
 
Shari Gunter
Newsletter Editor
Triangle Ferret Lovers club, North Carolina
http://www.trifl.org
 
[Posted in FML issue 1910]