Hi, I hope someone can answer my questions. I have three ferrets and my oldest girl, Casey (four years old), has recently developed a swollen vulva. Otherwise she is absolutely happy and healthy. It's oozing a little and I'm pretty sure it's adrenal but I will take her to the vet. She is MF, of course. My question is, if it's an adrenal problem, does she absolutely have to have surgery right away? I love her so much that I don't want to risk a possible complication unless it is necessary for her own happiness and health. If she is suffering from this, I will probably go ahead and have the surgery, but if she can live with it, then I don't want to do it. My other ferret, LouLou, seems fine, except she has recently gotten really scraggly looking - her fur is short and uneven. I feed them Iams Kitten. She doesn't have any bald spots but, oddly enough, Casey looked like this a few months ago and then her fur filled in and then all of a sudden her vulva was swollen. So now I'm worried that LouLou is going to have the same problem. I'm so upset about this. I really thought that adrenal was a rare thing but now it seems like 50% of all MF ferrets get it. I love my ferrets so much but I can't afford to spend $600/ferret or more for surgery. I CAN afford it, but I just don't like the idea of owning pets that invariably get expensive medical problems. But I can't imagine living without these ferrets of mine, either. This really bothers me. Please tell me what you think about the surgery. Thanks. Adrienne [Posted in FML issue 2966]