The safest chew toy for a ferret is one of these three: Foamy Fries,
Cheweasels, Marshall Chews, BUT if a ferret who did not gnaw before
starts gnawing you want to get a dental check for possible mouth pain,
and for things that cause nausea.  Take along a fecal sample for a fecal
occult and so on in case the vet wants to run such tests.  Yes, there
could be an emotional factor, but you DO need to first rule out medical
causes.
 
>First, it sounds like you may be confusing Adrenal Disease, sometimes
>called AD, with Aleutians Disease Virus, called ADV.
 
Yes, I agree with Danee, and i don't know why that is happening, nor do
I know how, where why AD began to be used for adrenal disease by anyone.
AD actually is more correctly one of the abbreviations for Aleutians as
in AD for Aleutian Disease and ADV for Aleutian Disease Virus.  In the
veterinary literature you will find both used in relation to ADV.  Early
last year (?) was the first time I can recall confusion by more than one
person here and there between adrenal disease (adrenal neoplasias of
multiple possible types) and Aleutian Disease Virus.  I am wondering if
there is a website up that is causing this persistent confusion.  Anyone
know?
 
(Remember back when the most common confusion was between adrenal
neoplasia and insulinoma?)
 
BTW, the TN Panel is often not as sensitive as the observations by
humans.  We have usually seen signs before the panel could discern
hormonal changes from adrenal neoplasia.  We usually skip the TN panel,
and go from signs.  Some signs call for rapid response, others are so-so
signs which put early adrenal disease into the possible causes but not
necessarily the only one.  Itching with no other signs fits into the
second grouping.  Immediately dangerous signs include anemia and
difficulty urinating.  If the ability to urinate stops then an IMMEDIATE
emergency appointment is needed and the stress on the bladder needs to be
relieved by having urine withdrawn by the vet (which also prevents it
backing up or otherwise causing problems such as ruptured bladder) while
an appointment is made for emergency surgery.  In that cause we've had
surgery done within 12 hours.  Some of the more common signs of adrenal
neoplasia include bilateral fur loss on the trunk, head (Some get bald on
top of their heads first.), or limbs; an increasing pear shape at too
young an age to look old or other unusual fat deposition such as fat in
the thoracic cavity; repeated urinary infections, swollen vulva, repeated
vaginal infections, etc.  In such situations we do not run the TN Panel,
we certainly do not x-ray (useless for this condition), and we normally
don't ultrasound (often useless for adrenals though we do check hearts --
for which ultrasound is great as it is for a number of other things --
that way on some pre-surgically and we sometimes check the prostate that
way).  Instead, we opt for exploratory surgery.  We are very lucky to
have a VERY ferret knowledgeable and accomplished vet (Joe Martins of the
Bellemead Animal Hospital in Central New Jersey -- part way between
Somerville and Princeton).  He's really good, and the absolute best we've
personally had is Hanan Caine who moved to Massachusetts.
 
Dave, I saw your turkey note and thought: well, wild turkeys are feisty
and besides -- even though they are a New World bird -- weren't they
imported to California?  Thank you for providing the answer right in your
post.
 
Did you see the note years back in assorted humane groups publications
about the CA F&G warden who shot a house-cat thinking that it was a
mountain lion (no joke)?
 
CA F&G also fibs (overly kind word) about info from elsewhere.  There is
a statement of their's that one of the eastern (forget which, but think
Massachusetts) ornithologists with that state's F&G claimed that released
ferrets which had goen wild were killing off shorebird chicks.  Well, I
was among the people who talked directly with the ornithologist after
that report.  He said that is a complete fabrication, that a CA F&G
person called him up and asked if that problem existed so he replied
negatively -- no wild ferrets and no killed chicks -- and then the CA
person badgered him with question after question till it finally got
to something like, "If there were released ferrets which went wild in
Massachusetts then do you think that those wild ferrets might decide to
feed on the chicks if they were handy." and he said that hypothetical
possibility was remote but could not be completely negated.  Then the CA
folks wrote it up as a report of actual occurrences.
 
One resource you will find useful, Dave is to pay the copying costs and
get a copy of the very large report that the Floyd and Jeanne Carley and
those with whom they worked put together.  Then you won't need to repeat
their work in your own activities, and you may find a useful way of
complimenting each other's efforts with those who remain very active in
this or of cooperating.
[Posted in FML issue 4020]