Yes, sometimes they mark territory, but the risk factor is so very large when a male has trouble urinating due to prostate enlargement secondary to adrenal disease that it is not something to fool around with. If you go to FML or the FHL Archives and check on this using words like "dysuria", "prostate", "Proscar",or "Propecia" you will find that if there is even a suspicion of difficulty urinating a rapid vet visit is called for. You'll also find a compilation of some past posts on causes of dysuria in the Files section at the FHL. http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/ferret-search.html http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/ http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/ferrethealth/prostate.txt Yes, dysuria can be the first sign of an adrenal growth. We had one male who had absolutely no signs until he one day suddenly could not urinate at all. (General signs of not being well would have not been noticed because he also was dealing with some bad deformities including of the stomach and with IBD, so he already wasn't well ever.) The vet had to empty his bladder with a syringe and he had emergency surgery. Which symptom or symptoms of adrenal neoplasia show up first depends on the individual. Jaime, YES! We are just the same way. When in doubt get a vet's opinion! There are also some things we jump immediately on, even if it means paying for an emergency appointment: injuries, coughing, not urinating, etc. NOTHING replaces veterinary care. Scarlet, look for Mike Janke's recent posts on one of his in the FHL Archives (address above). I think that one threw a clot if i recall right but this approach is being tried. Yes, we've noticed that massage can give more comfort when there is sarcopenia due to a serious illness. Don't forget that adjusting medications is necessary throughout insulinoma to adjust the doses of Prednisone or Prednisolone (Some ferrets respond better to the second perhaps due to their livers not processing the first med well.) and Diazoxide to provide optimal control. When the meds no longer hold the ferret sometimes adding dietary sugars will. We don't give sugars before then with one of these ferrets, but at times that addition when needed will give a good chunk of extra quality time. Important usual disclaimer that I repeat periodically often enough that some folks have said they are tired of it :-): I am NOT a vet. [Posted in FML issue 4141]