Adrenal disease: have a ferret which does not have a skin disease or skin
parasites and is losing fur, or a spayed one with an enlarged vulva.  or a
neutered male who is becoming sexually aggressive, or one having difficulty
urinating (infection, enlarged prostate, etc.)?  Think adrenal as likely.
In ferret adrenal disease is almost always a form different than is seen
in many other mammals.  They usually have the adrenal glands producing
too much estrogen.  Surgery usually is curative and easy, and the left for
some reason is more likely to be the gland involved.  X-rays are useless
and ultrasounds are so-so for diagnosis.  In a questionable situation the
Tennessee Panel tests can be useful, or it can be seen if the ferret
responds to Lupron.  Sometimes right adrenals come out cleanly but some can
only be removed in part, due to involvement with the liver, or (worse)
incursion into the Vena Cava.  If both adrenals come out completely then
the adrenal products have to be replaced with medications, one to handle
the fluid balance and another to handle electrolyte balance.  When a ferret
is not a decent surgical candidate or there is not a capable surgeon handy
then medications such as Lupron are useful, combined when needed with meds
for prostate problems.  If is not known if a young female has reproductive
tissue left behind or has adrenal disease, surgery is needed.  The majority
of adrenal growths are benign but are so very prone to causing preventable
problems if not removed when diseased that they should not be ignored.
 
Insulinoma: is your ferret having seizures, behaving as if nauseated, being
less active, or acting zoned out at times?  The most common cause of these
symptoms is that the ferret has insulinoma growths.  These are benign but
can be deadly because the excess insulin they produce drops blood surgery
into worsening low levels.  Insulinomae have a good chance of reoccurring,
but do not always reoccur and for a hardy animal surgery typically provides
a good deal more time and perhaps even a cure as per the writings of
Charles Weiss and other experts.  When surgery is not possible Prednisone
and/or Proglycem are the most commonly used medications.  To reduce stress
on the pancreas exposure to sweets and starches are best avoided or kept
low.  If a ferret is in a seizure, though, it is advisable to rub a sweet
such as Nutrical or corn syrup into the gums and get right to the vet for a
blood test, and to likely schedule a fasting blood test and perhaps a blood
insulin level test.  Stick with meaty meals.
 
Cardiomyopathy: has your ferret been increasingly inactive, or is it
developing a water-balloon belly or perhaps coughing a lot?  Any of these
symptoms make a person wonder if cardiomyopathy could be present.  The
first logical move would be a chest x-ray.  When ferrets get cardiomyopathy
it seems to most commonly be the hyperplastic ( = dilative) form and this
shows up well on x-ray, though an ultrasound will be needed later to plan
the medication routines and know which med to move into using when.  They
can also get the hypertrophic kind (which can also cause unexplained marked
weight loss but how common that symptom is remains unknown) and that is
harder to find through x-ray but shows up in ultrasound.  Some of the
medications used, depending on the individual's needs at any time, include
Enacard, Lasix, Digoxin, and others.  This disease is fatal but it is
possible for the individual to have extended marvelous time before death if
proper medical care is provided and the medications treated with respect
but altered in amounts/type by the treating vet over time as needed.
 
Ulcers: Have a grinding or nauseated ferret, esp. one with black and
tarry feces?  Think ulcers as a possibility.  (See sites recommended; out
of time.)
 
Blockages: Out of time and space, but blockages are another potentially
fatal common problem.  If I have time will say some things or other
old-timers can.
 
I am running out of space and time so I will just now refer people to the
following resources for more info on any health topic (Link from these,
too.):
 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.trifl.org/medical.html
http://www.ferretcentral.org
http://www.avecon.com/AveconADV.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/advferret
http://www.vetheart.com/
http://ferretdoctor.com
http://home.att.net/~hhoefer/
 
The list could go on and on and I am leaving out so many great resources
due to lack of space, but you can link to them from these.
[Posted in FML issue 3501]