To Melissa: >Dr. Daldin said that the results indicated she was slightly anemic - >levels of hemocrits (?) down to 34 from normal levels of 40-50. Her >calcium count was also low. Her coat went from a normal summer coat to >a short, dark, coarse, stiff, and sparse coat that the vet didn't like... x Well, there are numerous causes for anemia in ferets. Ferrets can become anemic either by direct blood loss, or simply by having a chronic disease, as some inflammatory mediators have the ability to impair production of red blood cells (the so-called "anemia of chronic disease"). A common cause of blood loss in ferrets is bleeding gastric ulcres. You can have a small ulcer that bloods constantly at a low level, and the stools won't turn black enough to notice. Another cause of external blood loss is fleas. Ferrets can be almost totally drained of blood - I've seen them as low as 5% simply from flea infestation. Another less common cause of anemia in ferrets, but a very common overall problem would be the excessive production of estrogen by ferrets with adrenal disease. Becuase only a few ferrets produce an active form of this hormone in their neoplastic adrenals, we often don't see anemia as a side effect in these animals. But it can and does happen. As far as calcium, there is a large fluctuation in the normal value in the ferrets. 7.5 mg/dl, which is very low for a dog, may be seen in the ferret. True hypocalcemia is uncommon in ferrets, and I'm not sure if I have ever seen it - hypercalcemia (too much calcium) may be seen in a variety of diseases, but because the body can always mobilize calcium from the skeleton, you never see true hypocalcemia. Judging from the coat changes and the anemia, I think adrenal disease is number one on my list.... Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP [log in to unmask] OR Chief Pathologist, AccuPath [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1400]