First of all I would like to say that I too received positive responses from
a number of FMLers regarding my post of the 1st February.
George, I am well aware that the USA is much larger than the UK, and that
they have a different climate to ours. I know that the ferrets are kept
differently - but all my ferrets are kept indoors as well - all 50 or so of
them. I also know that the Americans have more ferrets than we do, and that
probably more of them take them to see veterinary surgeons than the average
British ferret keeper.
I still believe that most of the early deaths in American ferrets are due to
endocrine diseases. Early spay/castration? George, I take it that you
approve of the early spay/castration? Because that was the main topic of my
post of 1st Feb..
George, how many cases of Adrenal *Adenoma* have you seen in the 10%
(probably the figure of 10% is too high) of UK ferrets that are taken to see
a veterinary surgeon? Adrenal carcinoma yes, occasionally. I have seen one
actual case in a hob (he was around 6 y.o.). Last year they showed a jill
on Animal Hospital (not the series from the RSPCA hospital) that had Adrenal
*Carcinoma*. Even the dimmest of British ferret owners would realise that
all was not well if their ferret lost most of its hair they might even
wonder why before cracking it over the head!
Now the endocrine diseases I referred to are adrenal adenoma and insulinoma.
In the USA the ferrets from the ferret *mills* are neutered around 5 to 6
weeks old (are you with me so far George). Our little ferret kit is barely
beyond the foetal stage. The pituitary gland, which one can call the
'conductor' of the endocrine glands, including the ovaries and testes
(gonads). If the gonads are removed at this very early stage of
development, these gonadotrophins from the pituitary act somewhere else.
And that place is on certain embryonic cells in the adrenal cortex. In the
course of time, these cells become an adenoma and this in turn produces
oestrogens, which cause jills to show signs of oestrus and alopecia. There
is no reason to believe that this train of events will occur if neutering is
carried out after 5 months of age.
When I said that Bill Killian could help to improve the lot of the American
ferret, I am well aware that Bill is a very knowledgeable breeder of
ferrets, that is not in dispute. The whole point was that breeders such as
Bill might be able to ensure that their kits were neutered at around 6 to 8
m.o. George even you can see the sense in that. I bet you don't have your
kits neutered at 6 weeks old!
I believe that some states insist that all ferrets are neutered before being
sold. Not good for the ferret kits - but then the laws aren't meant to
protect the ferret. Hopefully when the all the rabies issues are taken care
of and all the various States become United :-) the issue of the early
neutering can be brought up and the various powers that be can be educated,
they'll think up some form of legislation that ensures that kits are
neutered at 6 to 8 m.o.
I know that British ferret get cancers, cardiomyopathy and various other
diseases that eventually kill them. Wessex are very concerned about the
incidence of Aleutian Disease, is it the same in Essex? We have a major
problem over here concerning veterinary surgeons i.e. trying to find one
that will treat ferrets and more importantly is prepared to learn about
ferrets. We have vets that insist that jills cannot be spayed, some vets
also state that ferrets can't be vaccinated against distemper. However,
once you've managed to find a veterinary surgeon who will take on ferrets as
patients they can soon become captivated by the little critters and are only
too willing to learn more about them. After all it must give the vet a feel
good factor to have an animal on the table who regards a trip to the vet as
an adventure instead of shivering and shaking on the table.
One ferret owner in England was charged 80 pounds for blood work. I've
asked around a number of other ferret owners to enquire what their vets
charged and the average was 30 pounds if the sample had to go a lab, if the
vet checked the blood it was more like 10 pounds. BTW there was nothing
wrong with the ferret - the owner was concerned because the hob was thinner
than the other 3 she had. He was an entire male who was losing his winter
fat in preparation for the mating season! It's no wonder some UK owners are
reluctant to take their ferrets to a vet!
After saying that we do have some really excellent ferret vets - my own vet
admits that he is by no means an expert but at least he is very willing to
learn and knows full well that I will think no less of him if he picks the
phone up to consult John, excellent ferret vet in Widnes, John also consults
Dr. Williams, so there is not a great divide regarding the treatment of
ferrets, British vets are quite happy to consult American vets. BTW the
Society to which I belong also believes in getting post mortem reports on
ferrets. Bedford, Liverpool Welfares and I also get PM done as a matter of
course, in fact some vets automatically do a PM without even asking because
they know that the owner will want one if it helps the vet to learn more.
Bob C has covered diet etc in his postings so I won't bother writing about
the differences here.
Sheila
Bolton Ferret Welfare & National Ferret Welfare Society Newsletter Editor
http://www.btinternet.com/~sheila/ferrets.htm (Last Update 27 Jan 1998)
Waiting at Rainbow Bridge: Jill & Deanna Troi
[Posted in FML issue 2221]
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