Hello, Everyone! I just thought I'd share some of the symptoms that we noticed earlier this year in our ferret Squirt which led up to him having surgery and having his left (whew!) adrenal gland removed at the end of August (he's doing much better now). HAIR LOSS ON HIS NECK... It was bald for 1-2 months and is still pretty sparse. Some other areas don't look normal as well. Is his tail starting to lose hair or is it just his summer tail or my imagination? COAT... His coat does not look normal. It does not have the normal glossy, well kept look to it. His coat looks almost greasy and only looks good right after a bath. He hasn't been spending any time taking care of his coat except to rearrange his fur after a bath -- he used to be very fastidious about his coat. This has been going on since the beginning of the year. LETHARGY... He's not his bright, chipper self. He lays like a speed bump except for when he is chasing Hijinx or eating. He was always a bit of a lazy ferret, but this is exceptional laziness. PEES ALOT... And in numerous places, very rarely in the boxes. He used to be the best one about using the litter boxes. This has been happening since at least the beginning of the year. FERRET IN RUT... He has sexual or nearly sexual interest in Hijinx constantly. He bites her neck, drags her about, climbs on top of her...etc. Pippi isn't as passive as Hijinx and won't allow this without a fight so he doesn't bother her any more. This has been going on since at least the beginning of the year. his oder is acidic or sharp... Unlike the normal musky ferret smell. This comes back within a day or two of a bath. HIS BEHAVIOR... He's not as bright and bubbly as ferrets normally are or as he was. He has made Hijinx hide and sleep in strange places, Pippi is no longer his best buddy -- she has distanced herself some from him. He will wake up Hijinx when she's sleeping in order to bite her neck and drag her around. Hijinx has taken to sleeping under our fish tank where Squirt can't get at her very easily. HE HAS PUT ON WEIGHT IN THE BACK END... Doesn't look like his winter fat which is extra fat and fur all over. It's kind of almost like a potbelly for a ferret with all the fatness in one area. He seems kind of pear shaped. CLUMSINESS... Never was extremely graceful, but he won't jump off the bed anymore because he's bottom heavy and will tumble instead on landing on his feet. He has the same problem with jumping from your lap -- even short heights are a problem. I've set him down and had him fall over (not just because he wanted to fall over). COUGHS... He's always coughed from time to time - especially when he was shedding, but there has been more coughs -- perhaps due to loss of fur. This seems to have been less prevailant recently than it was earlier this year. SKIN... Is dry and *always* very itchy. =-= NOW THAT IS OVER =-= The two biggest changes we noticed shortly after Squirt's surgery were the return of his normal odor and his return to being very fastidious about his coat. He is still interested in Hijinx, although not as much as before. And, he's still missing fur, hopefully to grow in with his next coat change. As far as his clumsiness and lethargy goes, he's been dooking, wardancing, and carrying on quite normally lately. It looks like he'll be alright now that his adrenal has been taken care of. By the way, the vet looked at his pancreas while he was in there and found no sign of insulinomas (more good news!). Just thought I'd share our first-hand observations of an adrenal case, -- Mike [Posted in FML issue 1690]