Dear Malissa:
 
Your findings are consistent with the constellation of signs that may
signal hyperestrogenism in male ferrets.  Remember that ferrets rarely
show all of the classic signs, and you never know which ones you'll get.
 
Ferrets show cutaneous, behavioral, and reproductive signs with adrenal
disease - #1 and #2 fit in well with these signs.
 
>1. i noticed he was turning orangish from alot of oil production and he
>stunk pretty badly for a descented and desexed ferret.  his tail was
>really nasty and got those blackheads from clogged hairpores.
 
Blackheads - follicles filled with keratin debris and no hair shafts which
may be the result of hyperestrogenism.  As ferrets tend to revert to a
"pseudo-intact state", they will have cutaneous changes such as increased
odor which is generally seen in intact male ferrets.
 
>2. his normally white paws turned pinkish.  hair loss of course.  the
>small clue i noticed right away but chalked it up to seasonal shedding.
>it wasnt until his back became visible that i realized that he wasnt just
>in seasonal shedding.
 
Several years ago, Charlie Weiss mentioned to me that he considered the
tops of the feet to be a fairly consistent place for hair loss in adrenal
ferrets.
 
>3. he began to sleep an inordinary amount of time and seemed like he
>needed a dose of vivarin just to get some exercise, eat, and use the
>litterbox.
 
Not a very specific sign, but lethargy is not a normal consequence of
aging in ferrets - if you are seeing one of your ferrets suddenly becoming
inactive - don't just chalk it up to them becoming old - there is often an
underlying (and usually treatable) cause.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3228]