First of all, I'll admit to being an idiot & accidentally deleting the
FML from the other day, saying that the cause of adrenal disease has
been proven.  So, if any of the questions/remarks I have are
misinterpretations of that post, my apologies.
 
If I recall, it was said that it has been proven that adrenal disease is
caused by too early neutering &/or improper lighting conditions.
 
I have 5 ferrets.  Two of them had/have adrenal disease - Ariel & Max.
Both are from private breeders, & both are late neuters - Ariel was
spayed at 9 mos of age, & Max at an age we're not sure of.  He came to
Jean at Ferrets Unlimited as a stinky hob of undetermined age, & she had
him neutered just before I adopted him.  He developed left adrenal
disease 2 yrs ago.  We *think* he's about 5 or 6 yrs old.  Ariel
developed left adrenal problems at age 1 yr 9 mos, & has had right
adrenal disease (& has been on Lupron) for 6 mos.  She will be 6 yrs
old on 20 Apr.
 
2 of my ferrets, Oberon (age 5) & Puck (age 2) are from Marshall's, &
therefore were neutered waaaay too early.  Neither has had adrenal
disease.  Our 5th ferret, Ivan, we've only had for a couple mos now.  He
did come from a private breeder, but we don't know how old he was when
he was neutered.  He will be 2 yrs old next mo.
 
All 5 of my ferrets are caged int he same conditions (in the same cage).
It has a dark cover on it, w/ plenty of sleeping places that are in
almost complete darkness.  Those are in fact the places where they prefer
to sleep.
 
Doesn't this kinda blow the "proof"?  The fact that my 2 known late
alters who sleep in darkness have both had adrenal disease?  And 2
Marshall Farms ferrets who *haven't* had adrenal disease?
 
Again, I didn't have the chance to re-read the post, & look up any
provided links, before I stupidly deleted it.  If you could post those
links again, I'd appreciate it.
 
My point is, how can one say they have proof that such-&-such conditions
definitely cause adrenal disease, when all ferrets in those
conditions/situations do not develop adrenal disease?  Seems to me that
it's still a crap shoot.
 
Just curious.  And I'm certainly *not* an authority of any sort, but
I *do* believe in playing Devil's Advocate when I'm not convinced of
something.  Theories have to be tested & be found to be consistantly
true & reproducable by other people if they are to be called "facts",
of course.  And, just looking at my personal experiences, this "proof"
doesn't ring true.
 
Lin, Ariel, Oberon, Max, Puck, & Ivan
[Posted in FML issue 5215]