Amy,  You will want to check into Fox at MIT Comparative Medicine.  He has been
looking at a possible Aleutians -lympho connection, and his book (though now
dated) is the typical general ferret veterinary guide.  Re:  the melatonin
question:  the mechanisms are new postulations and I know of  no one who has
connected this to any cancers in ferrets, but some are  following up possible
links to human breast cancers -- basically the studies are of factors which are
estrogenic or which modify the cellular treatments of natural and imposed
estrogens and estrogen-like compounds.  Look in Science News 7/3/93, vol. 144
for an over-view.  Gather there's much more in the August Environmental Health
Perspectives with studies from 5 separate medical centers leading in the same
directions.  (If you get a hold on that I'd love a copy of the pieces.)  (Would
also love to know if there are lower rates of any of the breast cancers in those
with SAD.)    Some folks mentioned in Sci News piece:  Devra Lee Davis of Dept
of Health and Human Services,  John A. McLachan of NIEHS , H. Leon Bradlow of
Cornell's Strang Cancer Prevention Center, Richard G. Stevens of Pacific
Northwest Laboratory, Scott Davis of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,
David Blask and Steven M. Hill of U. AZ in Tucson, Dzhemal Sh. Beniashvili of
Republic of Georgia's Ministry of Health, Wolfgang Loscher of School of
Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, Germany, Robert P. Liburdy of Berkley, any of
which may be sources of reprints.  One problem:  the cancers seen in ferrets
tend to get lumped into very general catagories by diagnostic labs with many
types just plain being called lymphos so it can be hard to look at differences
between them.  Yes, inbreeding is a severe problem, which is why some breeders
are bringing in foreign sperm or breeders.  The most commonly heard of:  lympho
(of many possible  sites, and with different prognoses in young ferrets which
often have it expressed in lungs and untreatable  or (without symptoms till
death or near-death) in spleen which bursts, and in older animals which show
enlarged nodes and spleens and have health changes noticed by owners leading to
what can be effective treatment (see Ann Jeglum's lympho protocol for cats which
saved ferret, Bandit), insulinomas, and adrenal adenocarcinoma.
 
Again to the individual with the ferret which is partly bald and having orange
skin secretions:  What is the underlying problem?  Ferrets don't go bald to an
extreme extent without a reason (some not any big deal, but others life
threatening), and secretions themselves could be related.  If they are what they
sound like to me your ferret could have a problem Hjalmar had when his
adenocarcinoma caused him to go bald --  without hairs to wick away his skin oil
he got ozzy blackheads  which itched like crazy.  The answer was oiling him well
and regularly with  baby oil and then carefully and VERY gently to draw my thumb
nail (newly cleaned) along them from head to tail to dislodge the worst ones.
He found this a great relief, but again you need to know WHY your ferret is
going bald.
 
Anon with the hard of hearing ferret,  We also have one with a limited range of
hearing,  and have heard of 3 or 4 others, we're also among those who have
reported that our ferrets understand about 50 or 60 words and simple
subject-verb-object sentences.  Even 'Chopper who is partly deaf and Ruffle who
is retarded (and also has physical problems from acrondoplasic dwarfism and many
allergies) have reasonable comprehension if we use the right pitches and
repetition.   Your's may have a far worse hearing loss than our's.  Try banging
floor to get attention --- that's what parents I know do with deaf human kids.
 
Re not exactly kissing cousins:  Canada now has BFFs in the Toronto Zoo.  In the
fall the U.S.  National Zoo will begin public display of some and there will be
releases for re-introduction in several states.  A few of the breeding zoos have
had problems this year, with one losing many  of the kits and the reason or
reasons still unknown, but others such as WY Fish and Game's breeding sites have
had a strong reproductive year.
 
            Go see your furries and get some kisses and hugs,  Sukie, Steve,
Meltdown, Ruffle, 'Chopper the ferret helicopter, Spot, and Meeteetse
 
[Posted in FML issue 0526]