Melissa and Potpie here, responding to Hollie -
 
Hollie, you can probably relax a bit.  There are other symptoms involved
with adrenal disease, and a balding tail is by far NOT the definitive
symptom of adrenal disease.  Balding tails can be caused by coat changes,
dermatitis (ie, acne/blackheads), etc, etc.  And since the standard blood
panel won't show any blood chem values that are indicative of adrenal
problems, diagnosis usually relies on observation of symptoms.  Those
symptoms can involve:
 
 - Swollen vulva (female)
 - bilateral hair loss on flanks and back
 - Aggressive sexual behavior (male)
 
 ...and a few other things, which can be found on ferretcentral.org in the
medical FAQs. I suggest you read those and don't panic or shed tears quite
yet.  And even if your ferret shows one of the other symptoms, you have
some time before you need to make a vet appointment for surgery. You can
use this to save up a bit of money - my recent total cost for my male
ferret's adrenal removal was $400 (other surgical procedures raised the
cost quite a bit, but diagnosis and surgery for adrenal would just be
$400).  And while that is a lot of money, I'll bet you can find a vet who
will let you pay in installments. Save some money up, put that down as a
good faith deposit, and pay the remainder over time.  Or owe the money to
the generous relative, and pay them - but the cost is unlikely to be near
the 'thousand' you initially feared.
 
And last, if your ferret is 4-some years old already and does have adrenal
disease, her projected lifespan is quite likely not going to be reduced
presuming she gets the surgery.  In fact, my female MF ferret Friday had
an adrenal removed at the age of 1.5-2 yrs and is still going strong today
at 5 yrs - at the far end of the bell curve based on Bob C's informal
collection of adrenal data some time ago. Adrenal disease is not a
by-default death sentence.
 
Melissa, Potpie, Friday, and Noodle
 
ps - if you have other 'geriatric' ferrets, despite your strict budget,
find a way to accumulate a reserve savings for future ferret medical
expenses.  i can (unfortunately) guarantee that you'll need it.
 
- [log in to unmask] - This is a coin hold of great beak bird style. -
[Posted in FML issue 2785]