Went to vet between writing the segments of this letter and heard some things we had NOT wanted to hear. One was expected: folks who have been here a bit may recall that Scooter had a lot of one paw chewed off by his novice mother after he was born (at least that is the expected cause) and you'll recall that we've always known that some corrective surgery was down the line. Right now he's got too much bone exposed and has an abscess so he'll be having surgery. The other one I wasn't emotionally ready for. Warpie's got insulinoma; it's not bad at this point, just at the stage where a mild change in behavior was noted. The rough part is that she's not a particularly good surgical candidate. We're giving Pred while waiting for her blood test numbers from her multiple tests and then will be putting together info and deciding on how to approach this. If she were a good surgical candidate it would be easy even at her age of 5 years (We've had many with surgery at 5 to 8.), but this makes it a harder call. I was NOT ready for this and was a bit faded away while trying to adjust -- the mind doesn't work right in such situations. One of the realities of ferret medicine is that some basic numbers are BADLY needed so that adrenal disease can be better understood. Right now here are some things which as far as I understand are NOT known: 1. How common the development of asymptomatic adrenal disease is. 2. Actual numbers comparing the rates of early neutered, vs. late neutered, vs. not neutered which are adjusted so the rarity of the latter two doesn't give a false picture. 3. Actual figures on how common these problems are in other countries (since they are looked for commonly in the U.S. but that is not true in all locations). 4. Rate numbers which might give a feel for whether the problem has isolated causes or is one of those more complex puzzles in which several things play a part. 5. Actual studies of the things which have been hypothesized to possibly contribute. Some hypotheses currently existing for things which might contribute to the chance of adrenal disease (Note that I do NOT say "cause".), but which have not been formally studied -- or had tests completed if there happen to be some underway -- largely due to lack of funding from what I can tell: A. genetics B. early neuter C. too much light exposure and not enough true darkness for long enough (as in inky blackness where you can't see your hand in front of your face as it would be in a burrow) D. stress E. diet You will notice that I use the word "hypotheses" because none of these have been properly studied AT ALL as far as I've read so they don't even qualify as theories. Still, each of the above has been noticed to be present in patterns which MIGHT -- REPEAT MIGHT -- contribute to adrenal disease. To date, there are some meds which reduced adrenals in some but not all and which have some bad sides, some which look like they are useful quality of life drugs for some which can't have adrenal surgery, and then there is surgery which remains the best option. There's also the TN Panel. It's LONG way from where things were a decade ago, but there is still much to do. Don't confuse hypotheses with fact, or quality of life with treatment, and continue to give to veterinary research through the Morris Animal Foundation, the AFA, and research facilities. The first two steps will help your current ferrets, and the last one will help both them and your future ferrets. Years ago I found out (when trying to get some info for a relative) that when aloe vera is taken internally by humans it can cause urine to turn red. Now, I do NOT know if aloe vera is safe for ferrets, but if you use it on one and later see red urine do NOT do something precipitous like destroying the animal, please. Sukie From my sister's friend Marta: There was a town over-ridden by sadness where everyone felt that she or he was the most down-trodden of all. Into this town walked a mysterious individual who advised the townspeople to hang out their troubles on a clothesline one night. Anyone who wanted could then take the troubles of another. When the townspeople saw what each of their neighbors suffered they each decided to take back their own troubles, and then lightened each others' loads with understanding. [Posted in FML issue 2679]