Dear Dooky:
 
>I have a 4-5 yo MF male ferret who started loosing hair on his mid/lower
>back.  It started very light and wasn't real noticable at first, but then
>started falling out rapidally.  I was all most positive he was adrenal and
>started saving up some money to pay for his vet bills I assumed he'd be
>having in the near future.  Well, about 2-3 weeks after loosing the hair
>completely off his back area [it leads from the bottom of his shoulders
>down to the base of his tail-no hair loss on the tail, feet, belly, head
>and neck], he has started rapidly growing the hair back.  It's very short
>thick grey hair, with a few scattered black guard hairs growing in right
>now-but it's definally growing back in.  He has absolutly no bald spots
>now.  He lost absolutly no weight, remained fully active and playful
>through this whole time.
>
>I'm thinking it's possible he's still adrenal, but am very unsure if hair
>grows back after falling out?  Is it possible he's adrenal or are there
>any other explanations?
 
A four-to-five year old MF female surely fits the demographic, but this
pattern is somewhat unusually, primarily in the rapidity of regrowth.
However, I wouldn';t totally rule out adrenal disease based on the fact
that it grew back.  In the early stages of hyperestrogenism - hair
follicles may not be sufficiently stimulated to totally atrophy and fair
to regrow a hair shaft upon shedding, but may simply be delayed in their
normal cycle.  It is not uncommon to see adrenal ferrets lose hair but
regrow it later at the next shed.  Generally, the following year, the loss
is more pronounced and less likely to regrow.  At this point, I would also
look for other signs of adrenal disease in a male ferret - primarily
behavioral changes (and rarely urinary dysfunction).  If not, we can
probably wait until the spring to see what happens.
 
Other explanations would be a severe stress or illness - the so-called
telogen effluvium in which follicles become synchronized due to high
levels of endogenous steroids - which makes a shed very pronounced.  There
is rapid regrowth of the coat in these cases, and no long-term adverse
effects.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3274]