>From:    Jacqueline Snyder <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: very obese young ferrets?
>This morning our vet asked whether I had heard of any extremely obese
>ferrets--not necessarily large, but extrememly overweight--that were
>younger than 18 months or so.  Someone brought in a 4 pound male that is
>less than a year old.  He isn't unusually long.  He's somewhat lethargic,
>too.  The suspicion is that it is a thyroid or other hormonal issue.
 
The way I understand it, hypothyroidism is very rare in ferrets but we had
one in our shelter that was confirmed by a T4 test(I think that's the
test... been a while)to have hypothyroidism.  He lived a fairly normal
life on medication for the condition, though he never really thinned down.
 
Dr. Bruce Williams wrote to me about Sammy because he had never heard of
this condition in a ferret and asked if he could see his records.  I mailed
Sammy's medical file to Dr. Williams and he agreed that it appeared that
Sammy was hypothyroid.
 
I don't recall Sammy's age when first diagnosed with the condition.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael F. Janke, [log in to unmask]
* Secretary, South Florida Ferret Club & Rescue
* A 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation
*
* Shelter web site:  http://www.miamiferret.org
* Adrenal/Insulinoma web site: http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
[Posted in FML issue 2902]