>Oh my gosh I wrote the FML and got a response from someone saying that the
>leg licking was a sign of early adrenal.  Could this really be?  It never
>even crossed my mind I figured she jut loved me so much!
 
Candi,
 
I said this because of the key words in your post (and I'm paraphrasing
since I don't have that FML in front of me).  The words were something like
"this is a recent development".  A change in behavior is *always* reason
for concern and monitoring!
 
Also, there seems to be a correlation between intense inappropriate licking
and adrenal disease.  I'm using the word "inappropriate" to mean that the
ferret is obsessed with licking and goes out of their way to find something
to lick (usually legs, arms, and hands).  When you hold a ferret close to
your face and you are given a lick (kiss), this is not the same thing.  I
believe that Alicia said the obsessive licking is because of a chemistry
imbalance caused by the adrenal problem.
 
I have a ferret that licks my legs for attention.  He has *always* done
this.  When I don't acknowledge his licks, he takes it one step further -
he falls over on his back and stares at me with an intense, piercing stare!
But he has always done this!  Yes, he has me well trained.
 
A year ago, one of my ferrets got a severe urinary tract infection and had
to be rushed to the emergency clinic.  We treated him but less than a month
later, he got another one and had to go the emergency clinic *again*.  He
had a full, lucious fur coat so until the second bout, we had not
considered adrenal problems.  By the time he recovered from his second
illness and we got him into surgery (less than a month later), he was
almost bald.
 
    -Carla (not the shelter mom)
[Posted in FML issue 3029]