To Meg Carpenter - Very nice review of adrenal disease. However, I have one point of minor disagreement: >Early neutering is definitely a factor since >it is felt - in lay terms - that the adrenals try to take over the hormone >activity necessary for the ferret when part of the ferrets endocrine system >has been removed. Actually, this has been theorized, but never proven. In a recent study of 100 adrenal tumors at the AFIP, we have a 30% incidence in intact ferrets. Unfortunately, because msot of the ferrets that are presented for surgery (i.e. well taken care of) are pet ferrets that have been neutered, this skews the results. Also, this theory was promulgated at the Animal Medical Center in NYC, which has an overwhelming population of Marshall Farms ferrets (which are neutered at an early age). It's a good theory, but certainly not a proven fact. Bruce H. Williams, DVM Dept. of Veterinary Pathology Chief Pathologist, AccuPath Armed Forces Institute of Pathology [log in to unmask] Washington, D.C. 20306-6000 [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1216]