>Farms, by the neck & was holding him down.  This ferret was straddling
>the other.  I put a finger in his mouth to get him to release & when he
>let go...
>
>Is there a medical condition I need to be worried about?  This is the
>second time in as many days as he has done this... I have talked to 3 vets
>about prostate problems in adrenal males, (I do have one that is about 4
>or 5 that is showing signs of adrenal problems) & have been told each time
>that having an adrenal problem doesn't cause a prostate problem because
>the prostate is so far away from the adrenal glands...
 
Dear X:
 
While the penis is probably in good working condition, this behavior is
suggestive of adrenal disease - neutered males returning to intact
behavior is a strong sign of adrenal disease.
 
Regarding cystic prostatic disease - what you were told about the adrenal
gland not being close enough to the prostate to cause problems is
nonsense.  The mechanism behind prostatic disease in adrenal males has to
do with a change in the prostatic epithelium when exposed to high levels
of circulating estrogens.  It becomes flattened and starts producing
keratin (the appropriate term is squamous metaplasia), and this causes the
formation of large cysts within the prostate gland, and inflammation (the
body doesn't really like keratin anywhere except the hair and nails, and
responds with a whopping inflammatory response.) The cysts eventually
impinge on the urethra, and the ferret is unable to urinate voluntarily.
 
This phenomenon has been written up in the literature a number of times -
you can find it in Fox's book, Karen Purcell's book, Hillyer and
Quesenberry's book, and the initial report was in the journal Veterinary
Pathology - here's the reference:
 
Coleman GD, Chavez MA, Williams BH.
Cystic prostatic disease associated with adrenocortical lesions in
the ferret (Mustela putorius furo).
Vet Pathol. 1998 Nov;35(6):547-9.
 
That should give you enough info to argue with.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3600]