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Author wrote:
>Now for the problem... Yesterday she developed a VERY strong pungent
>urine smell.  Her vulva is swollen and is not bleeding but is draining
>some small amount of discharge.  She does not seem to have any other
>symptoms related to Adrenal (hair loss, ect.), so I am wondering if
>maybe she has gone in to heat?  I have never experience a ferret in heat
>and do not know what to look for.  She has increased her activity in a
>big way and the male ferrets are reacting differently toward her even
>though they are neutered.  She was bathed and by the next day, smelled
>like urine again.  Not the normal smell of ferret, but urine.  And she
>is not "rolling" in it.
>
>Thanks for any help...(I am taking her to the vet on Monday)
 
Dear X:
 
While there is the possibility that she is in heat - it is less likely
than her having adrenal disease.  We very rarely see intact female
ferrets except those that have been used as breeding stock.  Unspayed
females will often develop life-threatening bone marrow depression as
a result of being in heat.  While they are in heat, they produce high
levels of estrogen, which eventually damages the bone marrow.  This
happens in about 50% of unspayed females, and the chances of her going
through multiple heat cycles successfully without breeding are even less.
 
However, female ferrets with adrenal disease will also secrete estrogens,
which cause vulvar swelling, but for reasons we don't know, have no bone
marrow involvement.  They may also have uterine infections (known as
"stump pyometras") which result in the discharge you are seeing.
 
My suggestion is to take this one in quickly for an abdominal exploratory
- if it is an adrenal, you can remove the adrenal and the inflamed
section of uterus, and if she isn't spayed, well then you can do that
just as well.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 4061]