My baby girl [well, she's two, but ya know] Nava just had adrenal surgery
around a month and a half ago.  I would suggest that your ferret have the
surgery.  Yes, it is stressful.  But then you know exactly what you're
dealing with.  My ferret doc was able to remove the entire tumor and
after sending it out for pathology was able to tell us that it wasn't a
carcinoma [cancerous].  Two big -WHEWS- right there.  He was also able
to see that there was no tumor on the other adrenal.  Another -WHEW- .
 
And, after a month and a half, my little girl is back to normal,
terrorizing the bigger guys.  Her vulva has gone complete down and her
hair has grown back on her belly [from the surgery] and on her tail
[where she was just starting to lose her hair from the tumor].  This has
been one big happy story for us.  I know that it doesn't turn out that
way every time, but in my opinion nothing is better than getting in there
and seeing what's wrong.  If it's something worse than an adrenal tumor
now's the time to try and fix it.  It's less stressful for a ferret who
isn't showing many symptoms than for one who's already less active and
not feeling well.
 
If it's a matter of money ask your vet to work with you.  Most decent
vets will, especially if they're knowledgable about ferrets.  Those
special docs just seem to care a bit more.  And you don't want a vet
that isn't knowledgeable, anyways.  Do some research and find a good
ferret doc.
 
My little girl is happy and healthy and my wife and I are both glad we
opted for the surgery.  That's all I can tell you.
 
Roary & Yvonne
Albuquerque, NM
[Posted in FML issue 4032]