I wanted to share an experience we had regarding adrenal disease in one of our female ferrets. Mithril had shown hair loss on her tail for more than one year. She had been to our ferret-experienced vet multiple times, but because she did not show any vulva swelling, he assured us it wasn't adrenal cancer. Mithril had not noticably shed during this time period, so her hair loss was attributed to the normal hair loss often seen in ferrets before they shed their summer coat. Mithril's hair loss started to progress up onto her hindquarters and I felt like I had heard of adrenal disease being present without the sign of vulva swelling, so I finally decided to get a second opinion. This vet said he had just diagnosed his first case of adrenal disease in a female ferret without vulva swelling. He did a test that evaluates the estrogen level in the blood. He has readings from tests done on other ferrets, some of which were in heat. It took more than a week to get the results of the blood test and it was fairly expensive: $70. Mithril's estrogen level was higher than that of the females in heat for which he had records. Mithril underwent adrenal surgery on March 31st and had her left adrenal was removed, which proved to be malignant. She has recovered and appears much more active than she was before surgery, but she still has a naked tail! I hope she will shed soon, so we can have her looking as healthy as she feels. Has anyone else had adrenal cancer present in a female that did not show swelling of her vulva? Elayne [Posted in FML issue 1916]