Since placing this adrenal survey on my site, 388 people have participated.
If you would like to add to the survey, please visit the adrenal/insulinoma
site listed in my signature at the end of this message.
 
For some questions, there were only two possible answers, but for those
questions that have multiple possible answers, in most cases, I will only
list the top two answers.  The number in parens is the actual number of
responses for that answer.  You can find the full details by visiting the
survey results on the web site.
 
   ------------------------------------------------------------------
 
1) What is the sex of the ferret: 42% (163) said male, 57% (225) said
   female.
 
2) Who is the breeder of the ferret: 63% (248) said Marshall Farms,
   23% (93) said other.  After Marshalls, the next highest named breeder
   was CDC (Canadian breeder) at 3% (15).  Remember that Marshalls is by
   far the largest supplier of pet ferrets and the high percentage will
   naturally go to them.
 
3) Age when first diagnosed: 26% (101) said 3-4 years, 22% (88) said 4-5
   years.  7 people had ferrets that were one year old or less with
   adrenal disease.
 
4) Other major, concurrent diseases: 64% (249) said none, 13% (51) said
   insulinoma
 
5) Symptoms first noticed: 56% (221) said hair loss, 15% (60) said swollen
   vulva
 
6) How was adrenal disease diagnosed: 57% (225) said by symptoms only,
   15% (59) said by exploratory surgery
 
7) Method of treatment: 66% (259) had surgery, 21% (84) opted for no
   treatment
 
8) Drugs used as treatment: 77% (299) said none, 9% (38) said multiple and
   Lupron/Lysodren were tied at 5% (22 and 21 respectively)
 
9) If surgery, which gland removed: 37% (147) said left, 28% (112) had no
   surgery, 18% (72) had both removed
 
10) How long before symptoms subsided: 49% (193) said 1-3 months, 38% (150)
    said symptoms never subsided (remember, 21% opted for no treatment).
 
11) Is the ferret consistently exposed to natural light cycles: 55% (214)
    said yes, 44% (174) said no.  This result may be skewed since some
    don't appear to consider inside lighting as unnatural.  This question
    was updated to be clearer about 200 results into the survey.
 
12) When was ferret neutered/spayed: 79% (308) said before sexual maturity,
    16% (65) said unknown.  There were two responses for unneutered
    ferrets with adrenal disease.
 
13) What is the ferret's primary diet: 90% (352) said kibble only,
    8% (32) said other.
 
14) Where is the ferret's primary housing: 100% (388) said indoors.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael F. Janke, [log in to unmask]
* South Florida Ferret Help Line, 305-752-7040
*
* Website:  http://www.miamiferret.org
* Adrenal/Insulinoma web site: http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
[Posted in FML issue 3142]