Here is some random news (we've been very busy for some time and haven't been keeping up with the mailing list). The most important are the results we've been getting with Fritter - our ferret with cancer. [Hi. Have you heard from Shu-ju at all? Her machine went unknown a year or more ago, and haven't heard a thing since] Fritter, who is 6 1/2 years old is being treated for lymphosarcoma with tumor on spleen and pancreas and enlarged spleen (dramatically improved since predisone) with possible insulinoma (a tumor which produces insulin and crashes the blood sugar) as well. She can not be stabilized well enough to consider surgery because of drops in blood sugar. Her first symptoms included blood sugar dropping which resulted in severe convulsions requiring resusitation 3 times, with very red and hot front paws and no urinary incontinence, dramatically swollen lymph nodes (especially of throat), some hair loss on tail, slight tiredness, and a slightly enlarged vulva. Problems began during the first week of May (almost 9 weeks ago) but exotics vet we had then did not know how to handle it and advised putting her down. Treatments: Prednisone (given as Prelone Syrup mixed with about 1 Tbsp of Nutrical) 2/3 ml once daily. Another dosage being tested elsewhere, also with good results is 1/4 ml twice a day. Must be given with food. This is now recommended treatment for lymphosarcoma and for insulinoma. Control of blood sugar crashing: Nutrical (which also supplies extra nutrients and calories very badly needed with cancer) given both from tube and mixed into water as soup left handy 24 hours a day, assorted fruits left handy all day and night, other sweets. Some ferrets do not monitor their own blood sugar well and those get 5 mg 2/day of proglycem. Frit is able to time her own sugar consumption, down now to needing sugar usually only every 3 hours since prednisone makes insulin less effective. Problems with Reduced Resistance to Disease: Like folks with cancer Frit easy catches things. So far, she has had 2 viruses. We quickly got her on antibiotics to prevent secondary bacterial infections and controlled the diarrhea with thick rice water (cook rice -- preferably short grain which is starchier-- with too much water till you get a pasty fluid when you put it trough a strainer) mixed with Nutrical. (Yes, she's going through a LOT of Nutrical, which turns out to NOT be a bad thing for a ferret with cancer. In fact, vet says Nutrical seems to be a pretty safe nutitional aid for ferrets, but could you ever imagine one in normal health needing as much as 3 tubes a week? Still, it IS working and you can't argue with survival in an animal who was thought to be doomed, but is now having her appointments scheduled 2 months apart. Thanks VERY, VERY much to Nancy Hartman who has saved us about $40 a month on Frit's care by telling us about J&B Wholesale Pet Supplies (1-800-526-0388). Additional Problems: For whatever reason Fritter's ticker has been having problems with dropped beats and flutters with this illness. Those problems have also reduced dramatically on the medication. One thing we plan to do is test our others for anti-bodies to Aleutian Disease, since Frit is our second with lymphosarcoma (Helix was 4 years ago) and since Hjalmar has a chronically larger than normal spleen, tendencies toward these problems increase with exposure to Aleutian. If positive we will not add any ferrets until our 4 pass away (hopefully many, many years from now) naturally, and will then sterilize everything. [What is Aleutian disease?] Non-related stuff: Path Valley farms spays their females the same way my gynecologist did me, but their incisions are vertical along the midline so they disappear on ferrets. Has anyone REALLY done a study to show if animals altered at a higher age live longer? I've searched for such a study without luck and wonder if it may be more casual observation which needs study. The animal medical center in Colorado may not get enough money to study rabies shedding time in ferrets. If not, they will possibly have enough money to study cancers, nutrition, and other essential topics IF clubs and individuals DO NOT specify that the moneys can only be used for rabies shedding studies. When that happens they have to return the cash. This is not to say that shedding time is not important (though the other studies may save more lives), largely because people panic with false reporting about ferrets and because of rabies epidemics, all I am saying is that you may not want to make your contribution (We give in the 3 figures each year; can't ferret owners in general spare $1 or more?) applicable to only shedding studies, but will want to specify the ferret fund. The Black Footed Ferret Fund is starting a trial reinstatement this year. To overcome opposition the ferrets in that particular small area had to be down graded in status from endangered. We aren't keen on that, but it has worked to ease in other reinstatement projects in the past and may be the only possible compromise. There are a lot of kits this year and successful lighting techniques have been developed to extend the possible years of breeding (snychronization is a problem with animals not in peak breeding years). Re: tail hair loss: There are many possible causes from cancers, to non-cancerous tumors, to diet, to parasites (such as ear mites which like the tail almost as much as the ears in ferrets), to plain old dry skin. Eliminate the serious causes, look for parasites, and consider adding some SATURATED fat to ferret's diet if other causes aren't there (butter, NOT margarine works well) and moisturizing with things like citrus oil spray (Eco-safe products, PO Box 1177, St. Augustine, FL 32085). Sukie, Steve, Fritter, Hjalmar, Meltdown and Ruffle Crandall [Posted in FML 0152]