Medical help

[fergie 0]

One of my hob ferrets has a lot of hair loss and a sore on his leg.

All my ferrets are cleaned out daily and handled daily, well exercised and they a fed a good diet. I use hay for there bedding. The thing is he shares his house with a jill that has no signs of this hair loss. He is active and eats as normal. He had a vasectomy around 8 weeks ago and I noticed a little patch then but thought it was where the vet had shaved him. However it seems to have got worse. None of my ferrets have fleas. If it was mites would my jill not show signs of it also? Any ideas anything I can do to help him or is it a vet job

 

 

 

 

 

 

[victor 10]

i have no idea mate, i guess to the vet??

a friends brouther had a hob he didnt play with it at all and it was pulling it's furr out of its tail cus it was bored. but that is a diffrant story

[Kay 3,709]

Found this hope it helps

 

 

 

 

Adrenal disease in ferrets is now recognized as a common disorder in American ferrets, although it is less commonly seen in other areas of the world. It is a disease of middle aged to older ferrets, with the most common sign being hair loss. The term adrenal disease (sometimes called Adrenal Associated Endocrinopathy, or AAE) encompasses a variety of related conditions, including adrenocortical hyperplasia (the most common type, a proliferation of adrenal gland cells), as well as both benign and malignant (cancerous) tumors. The adrenal gland produces a number of hormones including estrogen and its precursors, and the presence of adrenal disease result in over-production of some of these hormones, resulting in the clinical signs and symptoms.

 

Signs of Adrenal Disease in Ferrets

 

Hair loss. This is the most common sign and usually starts around the rump and tail and progresses up the flanks and over the back and chest and abdomen (the head and limbs usually retain some hair). The hair loss often starts in late winter and early spring and can be progressive, or regrow and recur the following spring. In some cases the skin may be slightly red and itchy.

Enlarged vulva in females

Difficulty urinating in males (due to prostate enlargement)

Other possible signs include:

Thinning of skin

Muscle wasting

Weakness

Lethargy

Increased aggression

Marking (urine) and mounting behavior

Diagnosis

If your ferret is exhibiting hair loss or any unusual symptoms, a trip to a ferret friendly veterinarian is a necessity. Diagnosis of adrenal disease is often based solely on clinical signs. However, a full work up is indicated, with blood work and x-rays primarily to rule out other conditions that may be present along with adrenal disease before treatment. In particular, insulinoma (very common in older ferrets) should be ruled out. Ultrasound can sometimes be used to confirm the presence of an enlarged adrenal gland, and sometime a veterinarian will even be able to feel the enlarged gland, especially on the left. Oddly enough, over % of cases occur in the left adrenal gland only, with about 15% of cases involving both right and left glands.

 

Treatment Options

The treatment of choice is surgery to remove the affected gland. In cases where only the left adrenal is enlarged, removal of the entire gland is performed. If the right adrenal gland is involved it is usually only partially removed due to its anatomy (proximity to the vena cava, a large vein). Recurrence of the clinical signs is possible, however, at which point another surgery may be indicated, or medical management of the clinical signs may be an option.

 

Medical management is possible but usually a second choice, for example for ferrets that are quite ill or weak and therefore a poor surgical risk. Historically, the drug Lysodren® was used, but is unreliable in resolving symptoms and has potentially serious side effects. More recently a drug called Lupron® has been used with some success. In some cases it is ineffective, but is generally safer. Some other drugs are being tried as well (see the medical protocol published by Dr. Charles Weiss). The disadvantage of drugs over surgery is that the drugs simply control the symptoms without doing anything to remove the source of the problem. This is especially important because some adrenal tumors are malignant, so surgery should be the first choice if at all possible.

 

Resources

[fergie 0]

Found this hope it helps

 

 

 

 

Adrenal disease in ferrets is now recognized as a common disorder in American ferrets, although it is less commonly seen in other areas of the world. It is a disease of middle aged to older ferrets, with the most common sign being hair loss. The term adrenal disease (sometimes called Adrenal Associated Endocrinopathy, or AAE) encompasses a variety of related conditions, including adrenocortical hyperplasia (the most common type, a proliferation of adrenal gland cells), as well as both benign and malignant (cancerous) tumors. The adrenal gland produces a number of hormones including estrogen and its precursors, and the presence of adrenal disease result in over-production of some of these hormones, resulting in the clinical signs and symptoms.

 

Signs of Adrenal Disease in Ferrets

 

Hair loss. This is the most common sign and usually starts around the rump and tail and progresses up the flanks and over the back and chest and abdomen (the head and limbs usually retain some hair). The hair loss often starts in late winter and early spring and can be progressive, or regrow and recur the following spring. In some cases the skin may be slightly red and itchy.

Enlarged vulva in females

Difficulty urinating in males (due to prostate enlargement)

Other possible signs include:

Thinning of skin

Muscle wasting

Weakness

Lethargy

Increased aggression

Marking (urine) and mounting behavior

Diagnosis

If your ferret is exhibiting hair loss or any unusual symptoms, a trip to a ferret friendly veterinarian is a necessity. Diagnosis of adrenal disease is often based solely on clinical signs. However, a full work up is indicated, with blood work and x-rays primarily to rule out other conditions that may be present along with adrenal disease before treatment. In particular, insulinoma (very common in older ferrets) should be ruled out. Ultrasound can sometimes be used to confirm the presence of an enlarged adrenal gland, and sometime a veterinarian will even be able to feel the enlarged gland, especially on the left. Oddly enough, over % of cases occur in the left adrenal gland only, with about 15% of cases involving both right and left glands.

 

Treatment Options

The treatment of choice is surgery to remove the affected gland. In cases where only the left adrenal is enlarged, removal of the entire gland is performed. If the right adrenal gland is involved it is usually only partially removed due to its anatomy (proximity to the vena cava, a large vein). Recurrence of the clinical signs is possible, however, at which point another surgery may be indicated, or medical management of the clinical signs may be an option.

 

Medical management is possible but usually a second choice, for example for ferrets that are quite ill or weak and therefore a poor surgical risk. Historically, the drug Lysodren® was used, but is unreliable in resolving symptoms and has potentially serious side effects. More recently a drug called Lupron® has been used with some success. In some cases it is ineffective, but is generally safer. Some other drugs are being tried as well (see the medical protocol published by Dr. Charles Weiss). The disadvantage of drugs over surgery is that the drugs simply control the symptoms without doing anything to remove the source of the problem. This is especially important because some adrenal tumors are malignant, so surgery should be the first choice if at all possible.

 

Resources

 

Thanks he is only one year old

[fergie 0]

Ok vet has no idea what it is so I guess it’s up to me well I have decided to give him a bath. I’m gonging to disinfect his whole hutch run and everything. I changed there bedding from cloth to hay around the same time so I will change that back and see what happens. Any other ideas would be great.

[Guest on the hill]

watch what your washing him with........em.......not much i can think of on the spot

[diggermad 154]

hi mate my polecat always has trouble with his anal glands getting full at least twice a year and the balding is him biting his fur away anywhere around the back end of the ferret because he cant get to that area he bites anywhere so i take him to the vets and he empties it for me or if you can empty the anal glands yourself hope it helps cheers DM

[The one 8,483]

That the trouble with the internet folk look things up and reckon that ailments close enough , you did the best thing taking your ferret to the vets lets hope its nothing serious if your vets stumped