HELP!!! I think my ferrets sick!!!?

Question

I have a vet appointment scheduled for today but im going nuts here.Hes my baby boy... I think he has adrenal disease but I want to see if it can be anything else. I have ALREADY READ UP on adrenal, so please only let me know if you see another possibility or if you have personal experiance with ferret adrenal disease. hes 4 years old and has a not-completly-bald but thin spot on his side and another thin spot, but not as thin on the other side and the hair on his belly is thin and his chest hair is REALLY thin. His energy seems ok, maybe a TINY bit lower, and his appetite and potty activity are fine. His twin sister's coat is thick as can be and shes a lot fatter-hes not skinny but i can see his ribs a tiny bit where his hairs really thin when hes playing. We just moved a month ago and they got a new cage that had previously been used by gerbils but i washed it really good. its just as big as their old one though-like 4 ft square pleeeeeeeaaaase help!!!!

Answer 1

In North America approx. 80% of ferrets will become adrenal in their lifetime. If you see non-symmetrical hairloss, like what you are describing, it should be suspected.

The problem with adrenal disease is it really follows no set course, some ferrets will have hair loss some will have none, some will have muscle wasting some won't, some will have aggression, some will not. The symptoms are as varied as the list is long and trust me there is a very, very long list of symptoms of it. With males the one thing to watch out for is prostate enlargement, it can cause a urinary blockage which can become fatal. Since you are watching his litter box you'll notice if there is a change and if he stops peeing take him in ASAP, otherwise adrenal disease isn't an emergency situation but rather a chronic disease. It does need to be seen by a vet as soon as one can but don't panic it generally doesn't warrant an emergency trip as he's been dealing with it for a bit, hence the hairloss.

There are several options for treatment and I'm sure your vet will discuss them with you. I personally opt for surgery whether it's a right, left or bi-lateral. Before surgery we do one month of Lupron to allow the body to begin to heal and to ensure they are in better shape before going into surgery.

I've had a couple ferrets that had cardiomyopathy (heart disease) that were not good surgical candidates so we opted for  a combination of Lupron and Melatonin (implant) and have seen fairly good results.

Best of luck at the vet you are doing the right thing. =)

Adrenal is very common and there are many ferrets out there living very happy lives despite having been diagnosed adrenal - including 4 of mine, all sleeping happily in a hammock right now.

Answer 2

Could just be a skin irritation.  When ferrets get sick you usually notice it in changes in eating and p**p. www.ferretcentral.com or something.

Answer 3

he could have ringworm. or he could be depressed.