Adrenal Disease

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Question: What will happen if adrenal disease isn't treated in ferrets? How long will a ferret survive with adrenal disease if it's not treated? Does adrenal disease cause pain?

Answer: Yes it causes pain. Ferrets do not usually show signs of pain until it is almost to the point it will kill them. It is impossible to say how long your ferret has with or without treatment. He can live 5 more years or one more year. Depends on how bad the adrenal tumor is. Without treatment the ferret could have all or some of the following symptoms: lose most/all his fur, become very tired, hard a very painful time going to the bathroom, get swollen vulva that increases risk of infections, become very aggressive towards other ferrets or you, and lose his appetite and lose weight- or stop eating all together and die. I suggest getting the Lupron shots and the melatonin implant after the surgery. I have had 3 ferrets die of adrenal- 1 had this. I also have 1 with adrenal (he is 7.5 years old). The two hat got this treatment definitely have/had it the easiest. They did not require a year or more of force feeding like the other two, and they stayed active and played with the other ferrets, so I know they felt 100% better. When a ferret has to get a shot (rabies, distemper, Lupron... whatever) the best thing to do is to bring Ferritone and give the ferret some while he/she is getting the shot. They won't even notice! Its amazing.

Question: how common for ferret to have adrenal disease? is it common for a ferret under the age of one to develope adrenal disease i know they can when older.... if not so common what could be other possibilities for some hairloss on their tail......

Answer: It's most common in ferrets three and over, but it can strike ferrets as young as two. Under a year old, I doubt it's adrenal related. Some ferrets do lose most and sometimes all of the hair on their tail during seasonal coat changes and then it all grows back in at the next coat change. It's a condition known as "rat tail." I have two that this happened to last year around this time and it appears to be starting again. The one was actually tested for adrenal the other week and I'm still waiting for the results of the test. All of the hair grew back on both of their tails during the last coat change, but the one I'm having tested for adrenal did not regrow hair around the base of her tail, so I decided to have her tested (she's 2.5 years old now). I did notice with the other ferret that he also had a lot of blackheads on his tail (when I looked closer at my female's tail, I noticed a couple, tiny blackheads on her tail as well). Are you noticing any blackheads on your ferret's tail? Ferrets are prone to blackheads on the tail and it can cause hair loss. It doesn't look very attractive, but it's really nothing to worry about. It can be treated with a gentle cleanser containing benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid (check with your vet for a safe cleanser to use). Use the cleanser to wash the tail (and *only* the tail) every couple of days - let the cleanser sit for a minute or two before rinsing. Even if you aren't noticing blackheads, it could just be a seasonal thing and a case of "rat tail." It could also be stress related. Has anything changed suddenly in your ferret's life? If you're really concerned, give your vet a call and ask him/her what he/she thinks.

Question: Does my ferret have adrenal disease? I have a 6 year old female ferret. She has lost all of her hair on her tail, and her hair on her body has considerably thin. She is a very small ferret, but seems like she may be thinning. She shows no sign of nesting or inflamed vulva, common signs of adrenal disease. Could this just be old age? Opinions please. I brought her to the vet today. She has a tumor on her spleen, the blood work was done we don't know the results yet if its cancerous. And no tests were ran but the doctor is very positive she does have adrenal disease. Thanks for your answers. And she won't suffer. She will be kept comfortable, until her time comes. She seems to be pretty pain free right now. Thanks for your comments and any further advice or experiences on this let me know.

Answer: I'm guessing it is adrenal disease. She has the main signs of it. Dealing with adrenal disease can be done in different ways, you can either opt for surgery to remove the affected gland or you can treat it with medication. If your ferret is healthy otherwise and could survive a surgery, I would go that route. It is the only way that will actually cure the disease. After adrenal surgery ferrets can live out healthy lives. You can give lupron injections as well. They are quite pricey and it only seems to work with some ferrets. With a lot of ferrets it doesn't really help them as well. It's a treatment, not a cure. A cheaper treatment option which helps slow the disease, but it will not cure it, is melatonin. You can get your ferret a melatonin implant which lasts 4 months. It will help your ferret regrow hair and will help regulate their hormones better. This approach seems to prolong life for the ferret as well. The implants cost between $10-25 for 4 months, depending on where you get them. Many ferret shelters also sell the implants as well, and charge less than a vet. This can also be safely combined with other methods of treatment as well. I run a ferret rescue and we usually give adrenal shelter ferrets a melatonin implant before we give them adrenal surgery. Usually if the implant doesn't help them regrow hair, we know that there is cancer involved and that it has spread to other areas of the body. Usually then surgery isn't an option anymore. If you opt to not do surgery, I recommend the melatonin implants. They are relatively cheap, and we've had great success with them. They are manufactured by Melatek, and you can get your vet to order them from the company. You can do an online search for that company and you'll find out all sorts of information about it. Good luck, and I hope everything turns out alright.

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