To Melissa:
 
>Dr. Daldin said that the results indicated she was slightly anemic -
>levels of hemocrits (?) down to 34 from normal levels of 40-50.  Her
>calcium count was also low.  Her coat went from a normal summer coat to
>a short, dark, coarse, stiff, and sparse coat that the vet didn't like...
 
  x Well, there are numerous causes for anemia in ferets.  Ferrets can
become anemic either by direct blood loss, or simply by having a chronic
disease, as some inflammatory mediators have the ability to impair
production of red blood cells (the so-called "anemia of chronic disease").
A common cause of blood loss in ferrets is bleeding gastric ulcres.  You can
have a small ulcer that bloods constantly at a low level, and the stools
won't turn black enough to notice.  Another cause of external blood loss is
fleas.  Ferrets can be almost totally drained of blood - I've seen them as
low as 5% simply from flea infestation.
 
    Another less common cause of anemia in ferrets, but a very common
overall problem would be the excessive production of estrogen by ferrets
with adrenal disease.  Becuase only a few ferrets produce an active form of
this hormone in their neoplastic adrenals, we often don't see anemia as a
side effect in these animals.  But it can and does happen.
 
    As far as calcium, there is a large fluctuation in the normal value in
the ferrets.  7.5 mg/dl, which is very low for a dog, may be seen in the
ferret.  True hypocalcemia is uncommon in ferrets, and I'm not sure if I
have ever seen it - hypercalcemia (too much calcium) may be seen in a
variety of diseases, but because the body can always mobilize calcium from
the skeleton, you never see true hypocalcemia.
 
    Judging from the coat changes and the anemia, I think adrenal disease is
number one on my list....
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP
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Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
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[Posted in FML issue 1400]