Does stress induced rat-tail grow back the same year after eliminating the
stress or next year?  Also if my ferret got rat-tail because of stress is
he more likely you get recurrently?
 
I got Newt from a co-worker whose ex left him out side and when she got him
back he was bald all over but alive and skinny.  Now I have him permanently,
he has regained most of his weight and is eating well, most of his hair has
grown back except his tail and a ring on his back with a patch of hair in
the middle.  I took him for his fist vet visit since he was a kit, he is
3-4 years old, she never took him for shots or anything, but says she used
to be a breeder.  I have to take him in again in the morning for a drop off
and more tests, he might have cardiomyopathy, the vet wants to do blood
work-up and few other things I can't remember the names of.  He(the ferret)
is soo sweet, he was giving the assistant kisses the whole time she held
him within kissing distance and the vet was examining him.  I hope we don't
find anything too serious, my other ferret has finally accepted him.  Pray
for him.
 
I picked him up, and we looked at his x-rays( the other test come in
Friday).  His heart is a little enlarged but there isn't any sign of heart
failure.  When he gets the results back from the Ecg and blood work up
he'll call me.  On a side note I've noticed many of you have spent alot
on your fuzzies, do any of you use veterinarian insurance
 
Update, The tests came back and the vet doesn't think that it is heart
disease, now we are focussing on a potential adrenal problem.  Have any
others had heart problems linked to adrenal problems?  Also, I want to ask
this question but I don't want others to think ill of me.  In my post it
tells how I got Newt.  Myself my animals and my son have all become very
fond of him but I didn't know he had health problems.  I've been taking him
to the vet, getting him care, and paying for it but I don't know what I
have gotten myself into.  If this is something expensive and long term I
don't know if I can handle it financially or martially (hubby doesn't
understand my love of animals, and I have had him longer than any of my
animals).  My other quandary is I don't want my other ferret Pharaoh to go
back to being an only ferret.  If I am forced to give up Newt, even though
I don't want to, I'm afraid a shelter won't let me get another because they
will think I am callus and uncaring and now that I know about shelters I'll
never buy from a store again.  What do I do, this is the only access I have
to people who know and care about what I'm going through, none of my family
or friends care about this topic.
[Posted in FML issue 2793]