I might as well copy this reply to the discussion on the FHL to the
FML, too.

Debi's comment about the living conditions often being more important
than the starting genetics actually fits with the human studies for
SOME genetic vulnerabilities. Some other vulnerabilities are just
so strong that they will express themselves almost no matter what,
but others might need an extra boost. That could mean that some
vulnerability genetics or some suppressor or protector genetics are
affected by an epigenetics switch which was turned on or off by
something (lack of exercise, obesity, some forms of pollution,
cigarette smoke, some viruses or other things which can affect
epigenetics). Some epigenetics effects can even be seen in later
generations.

Chris and Tony's comments about things worsening BADLY in the UK when
fancies became the rage fits EXACTLY with what we saw here in the U.S.
Steve and I have ferrets for something like 31 years and have known
people who had them earlier.

We've seen some attractive although bad mutations ended by sterilizing
the ferrets, which makes sense.

For example, one very responsible private breeder ran into a mutation
in which the ferrets had non-bilateral patches of red, white, and dark
brown whose aortic arches were damaged (fatally for those ferrets) as
happens often in mammals in which one side of the head coloration is
very different from the other side.

Another produced auburn ferrets who had terrible tempers that were way
too easily expressed. That one was from a large (but not the largest)
farm and yet it sterilized them which says something.

A third, from that same farm, produced short faced ferrets who had the
most incredible coats ever but that was because they had acondroplasic
dwarfism complete with the painful problems like terrible arthritis.

Those breeders did the responsible thing.

On the other hand we have seen one situation in which a southern small
farm tried to pass off something not genetic as a special color and
charged top dollar. The person was feeding something which colored the
ferrets' skin oils orange, so the albinos changed to look light orange
till their diets were changed and they were bathed. The person sold
them as "tangerine" coloration.

We have also seen breeders who knew far, far too little what they were
doing and some of them still sell ferrets though some stopped and some
learned. For example, one small farm has shown a number of ferrets on
their website with dangerous malformations such as short or missing
tails. That variation in mammals is associated with an increase the
rates of spina bifidia. I have not read about that topic in some time
so do no know if the change has a direct effect or if it does something
like reducing the uptake or utilization of folic acid which can
increase rates of that problem.

When problems associated with neural crest genetic variations (such as
Waardensburg, K.I.T., and L.E.O.P.A.R.D.) were first discussed I recall
some small breeders who insisted that they were going to breed ones
with those markings who did not have the many associated health and
sensory problems. I also know of others who were going to "dilute" it.
Obviously, neither approach worked. What was needed was to sterilize
all the ferrets with those genetics, even hidden (which neural crest
variations can do since they have variable expression so can hide in
any ferrets, and also they can be hidden in white ferrets). Instead,
the health of a huge number of ferrets in the U.S. was worsened. When
the aberrant white markings are confined to the head it might be
Waardensburg OR K.I.T., but when there are body splotches, too, then
K.I.T. is what fits the bill. A farm in Scandinavia which lost its
license to breed there due to multiple cases of animal abuse had some
which fit the patterns for L.E.O.P.A.R.D. which is melanistic rather
than causing lighter markings. That also is associated with some nasty
health problems.

The neural crest is one of the earliest crests of slightly
differentiated stem cells in early embryos before there is form and
before there are true organs. Cells from it do not create only nerves
(and remember here that some nerves give feedback from and to organs to
permit proper functioning and health of those organs). The neural crest
cells also form jaw and ear structures, pigmentation, and more. Some
of the problems that neural crest disorders can cause are ones of the
gastrointestinal tract, deafness or partial deafness, inability to
use the jaw properly and sometimes to swallow properly (dysphagia).
Cardiomyopathy rates are increased. There are a lot more problems that
increase, too. Neural crest mutations can happen in several ways at
several genetic loci (locations) so it is possible to have more than
one in a single ferret, and when people discussed this years ago they
were mentioning even worse problems when neural crest variation ferrets
were bred with other neural crest variation ferrets.

Neural crest variations were once mistakenly called the "Star Gene".
Neural crest markings are more commonly seen in domestic species and
the animals with them have milder behaviors and it appears that their
adrenal do not generate epinephrin (adrenalin) as easily as in animals
without those markings so they were less jumpy. (By breeding foxes
with those problems taming happened very rapidly.)

I recommend going to the separate FHL Archives
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
which also can be linked to from my sig line or from several places in
the FHL website's homepage.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
Then leave the subject box empty and either look for certain words in
the message body OR just leave that one empty, too, and look for posts
from brettm (a genetics professor) by using the from box, such as these:
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/YG3069
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/YG2759

Back early (say, a quarter century and more ago) almost all of the
U.S. ferrets to be found were sables with standard markings, a few
were a little bit paler, called siamese back then, and there were a
few albinos. Standard life spans were longer than most people seem to
report them being these days and I used to hear about a lot more 9 to
11 year olds ones. Even for those of us with exotics specialists such
as those at the AMC within traveling range (so correct diagnoses),
insulinoma was VERY rare and adrenal disease was also rare and almost
never encountered at younger than 5 years of age. Lymphoma seemed to
be reported more often on the ferrets list that existed then, as were
splenic problems. Of course, adult onset lymphoma was going to increase
in rates with older ages being attained more often, and Helicobacter
mustelae was not known about then so there was no treatment for it.
Helicobacter infections increase the rates of some malignancies,
increase the risk of ulcers, and increase problems with the spleen
which might explain the somewhat high number of splenic ruptures
discussed back then.

After fancies became more common in the U.S. the reports of
cardiomyopathy, adrenal disease, and insulinoma increased. Later,
perhaps from fancies bred with fancies, there began being more and more
reports of adrenal disease before the age of 5 years, though there is
an alternative possible explanation (or perhaps one that worked in
conjunction) because those now omnipresent green, or blue or blue-white
equipment lights began showing up on a huge number of pieces of
equipment. Blues have the worst wavelengths for disrupting the body's
natural production of melatonin. Green is second worst. (Amber is the
safest color for a night light because it causes the least disruption.)
Melatonin is great at helping kill off early malignant cells, so
reducing production with too little darkness is a way to worsen risks.
Sufficient melatonin levels also can reduce LH levels and too high LH
is what causes adrenal growths.

It is important to not confuse this new Australian genetics book with
the one done in the U.S. years ago. The one done in the U.S. years
ago is garbage; it combines some reasonable observations with no
understanding of genetics beyond the most simple of Mendelian
Principals and contains a good bit of confusion about that in the
genetics section, so when I was given that section to read in that old
U.S. book about half was reasonable and half was confused and confusing
clap-trap, all jumbled in together. (And,wow, did I get yelled at when
someone in F-G
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Genetics/
confused my comments about the U.S. book with the Australian one even
though I clearly said which I was talking about at that time, so those
here who also want to comment on the old and lousy U.S. book will want
to be extra, extra clear to point out which book they mean.)

I have not read the Australian genetics books and have to reserve my
ferret book budget for other resources but I can say what I have heard
about that book on F-G, and tell some of my own experiences.

Nor do I know how much of the work is based on a sufficiently large
number of ferrets with sufficient controls and matching, vs. how much
is taken from work on other species (which can be useful though it
should be clearly noted and hopefully is in such situations).

Two useful things that were said about who consulted on the book on F-G
(which is very different from what happened with the old U.S. book):
1. That they used a genetics professor to consult
2. That at least one veterinarian was involved

That is per posts on F-G by people involved in creating the new book.

A personal observation about frenetic kits (not just very active and
muscular ones) and disease: of the four we had who were frenetic one
lived to be almost 9 years of age, one got DIM and died at under a year
of age, and two died very young of JL (before reaching one year of age,
our only two with JL). JL is Juvenile Lymphoma (Lymphoblastic Lymphoma)
which is VERY different from the other two general forms of lymphoma.
See two recent posts I sent about this form and about the forms in
general. I am very curious if others have encountered this same pattern
of frenetic activity with JL. We tend to have very active and muscular
ferrets, but these were different, over the top, actually.

We have also found more health problems and earlier deaths from a range
of causes personally in ferrets who have roaned (turned whiter with
aging), and we have consistently found earlier deaths in the ferrets
who joined our families if they were females who had robust builds
(some call it the bulldog build) which might make sense if others have
encountered it, since that is naturally more of a male build in ferrets
so perhaps female ferrets who develop that robust build start out with
hormonal imbalance(s).

We have very often have seen cardiomyopathy in ferrets who have true
(COMPLETE and CLEANLY MARGINED) white bibs and mitts, BUT typically at
an advanced age.

In PubMed there are multiple abstracts that can be clicked open on the
eye and vision problems of albino ferrets:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez
for example:

Sensitivity to relative disparity in early visual cortex of pigmented
and albino ferrets.
Kalberlah C, Distler C, Hoffmann KP.
Exp Brain Res. 2009 Jan;192(3):379-89. Epub 2008 Aug 23.
PMID: 18726091 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Visual field defects in albino ferrets (Mustela putorius furo).
Garipis N, Hoffmann KP.
Vision Res. 2003 Mar;43(7):793-800.
PMID: 12639605 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

The effects of monocular enucleation on ganglion cell number and
terminal distribution in the ferret's retinal pathway.
Thompson ID, Morgan JE, Henderson Z.
Eur J Neurosci. 1993 Apr 1;5(4):357-67.
PMID: 8261115 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

The segregation of ON- and OFF-center responses in the lateral
geniculate nucleus of normal and monocularly enucleated ferrets.
Morgan J, Thompson ID.
Vis Neurosci. 1993 Mar-Apr;10(2):303-11.
PMID: 8485093 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Early monocular enucleations in fetal ferrets produce a decrease of
uncrossed and an increase of crossed retinofugal components: a possible
model for the albino abnormality.
Guillery RW.
J Anat. 1989 Jun;164:73-84.
PMID: 2606796 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Free PMC Article

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html

"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 7428]