My female ferret was totally bald and had a very swollen vulva. I had my local vet do an ultrasound which showed nothing. I ended up taking her to Ohio State University and the first one they did they said showed a right adrenal problem. I knew the problems and cried all the way home. (100 miles) When they did the surgery, they removed nothing, said everything looked normal. Said the ultrasound could have been showing an "air pocket" So it was all a waste of time and $$$$$ WIthin 3 months she had a discharge from her vagina. I took her back and this time the ultrasound didn't show anything with her adrenal glands, but she did have a stump pyometra. I told them I wanted the left one taken out NO MATTER WHAT. It turned out that it was cancerous. So my layman's opinion is - if I ever have another ferret with classic adrenal symptoms, I will have the panel test done and try to avoid wasting anymore $$$ on ultrasounds. BTW - I made them write-off the second surgery in full. If you would be interested in the full story, along with before and after pics go here. http://adferrets.tripod.com/news/news.html Julie - Wiley and now a very fuzzy Bauble [Posted in FML issue 3287]