Hello, Everyone!
 
I just thought I'd share some of the symptoms that we noticed earlier this
year in our ferret Squirt which led up to him having surgery and having his
left (whew!) adrenal gland removed at the end of August (he's doing much
better now).
 
HAIR LOSS ON HIS NECK...
 
It was bald for 1-2 months and is still pretty sparse.  Some other areas
don't look normal as well.  Is his tail starting to lose hair or is it just
his summer tail or my imagination?
 
COAT...
 
His coat does not look normal.  It does not have the normal glossy, well
kept look to it.  His coat looks almost greasy and only looks good right
after a bath.  He hasn't been spending any time taking care of his coat
except to rearrange his fur after a bath -- he used to be very fastidious
about his coat.  This has been going on since the beginning of the year.
 
LETHARGY...
 
He's not his bright, chipper self.  He lays like a speed bump except for
when he is chasing Hijinx or eating.  He was always a bit of a lazy ferret,
but this is exceptional laziness.
 
PEES ALOT...
 
And in numerous places, very rarely in the boxes.  He used to be the best
one about using the litter boxes.  This has been happening since at least
the beginning of the year.
 
FERRET IN RUT...
 
He has sexual or nearly sexual interest in Hijinx constantly.  He bites her
neck, drags her about, climbs on top of her...etc.  Pippi isn't as passive
as Hijinx and won't allow this without a fight so he doesn't bother her any
more.  This has been going on since at least the beginning of the year.
 
his oder is acidic or sharp...
 
Unlike the normal musky ferret smell.  This comes back within a day or two
of a bath.
 
HIS BEHAVIOR...
 
He's not as bright and bubbly as ferrets normally are or as he was.  He has
made Hijinx hide and sleep in strange places, Pippi is no longer his best
buddy -- she has distanced herself some from him.  He will wake up Hijinx
when she's sleeping in order to bite her neck and drag her around.  Hijinx
has taken to sleeping under our fish tank where Squirt can't get at her very
easily.
 
HE HAS PUT ON WEIGHT IN THE BACK END...
 
Doesn't look like his winter fat which is extra fat and fur all over.  It's
kind of almost like a potbelly for a ferret with all the fatness in one
area.  He seems kind of pear shaped.
 
CLUMSINESS...
 
Never was extremely graceful, but he won't jump off the bed anymore because
he's bottom heavy and will tumble instead on landing on his feet.  He has
the same problem with jumping from your lap -- even short heights are a
problem.  I've set him down and had him fall over (not just because he
wanted to fall over).
 
COUGHS...
 
He's always coughed from time to time - especially when he was shedding, but
there has been more coughs -- perhaps due to loss of fur.  This seems to
have been less prevailant recently than it was earlier this year.
 
SKIN...
 
Is dry and *always* very itchy.
 
=-= NOW THAT IS OVER =-=
 
The two biggest changes we noticed shortly after Squirt's surgery were the
return of his normal odor and his return to being very fastidious about his
coat.  He is still interested in Hijinx, although not as much as before.
And, he's still missing fur, hopefully to grow in with his next coat change.
As far as his clumsiness and lethargy goes, he's been dooking, wardancing,
and carrying on quite normally lately.
 
It looks like he'll be alright now that his adrenal has been taken care of.
By the way, the vet looked at his pancreas while he was in there and found
no sign of insulinomas (more good news!).
 
Just thought I'd share our first-hand observations of an adrenal case,
 
-- Mike
[Posted in FML issue 1690]