QUESTION:
I was just wondering, If a male ferret got an infected adrenal gland removed, will he stop being sexually aggressive? As it is he is only aggressive sometimes, while other times he is a complete gentleman towards the ladies. My vet said that I should just wait until I see any bit of hair loss because the test costs $200 and she said it would save us a lot of money in case he did or did not have it. What do you think? My only problem is that if I wait isn't there a greater chance of him getting both glands infected?

ANSWER:
Until you decide to do surgery you could give Tank a MELATONIN IMPLANT or LUPRON Depot (more costly, but a 4 month depot usually lasts 6 months). Giving the Melatonin will help with his behavioral problems. Even if you do surgery on the one gland he could still grow a tumor on the other later on, but for now the Melatonin should help give him the relief he needs. The symptoms often disappear with the change of seasons and then return the following season more pronounced with hair loss etc..

It would be good to read all about your options for treating Tank at: www.miamiferret.org Go to FERRET HEALTH and then to ADRENAL DISEASE and check out all the info, make copies for your vet and then you can discuss his situation together.

QUESTION:
I am currently owned by four wonderful weasels. I am however, very concerned for my ferret cleo, because he Vagina is swollen and seems to be leaking some sort of puss. Does this always mean that they have adrenal disease or could it be an infection? We are taking her to the vet the day after tomorrow, but I wanted to have a second opinion?

ANSWER:
Most likely it is due to adrenal disease, does she have some hair loss also? You can care for the infection by taking a syringe of warm water to which you add a few drops of vinegar, squirt gently into the vulva. If you can do this 2-3 times a day it will reduce the puss very quickly.

Your vet may prescribe antibiotics orally but after many years of caring for ferrets I have found the vinegar/water much more successful, in fact rarely will the antibiotic work, as the infection is local to the area and not systemic.

Keep her bedding very clean as you know ferrets love to wipe themselves after urinating, so cleanliness is important. The swelling is due to adrenal but the infection is secondary from the vulva being open, hence the need for washing/douching with the vinegar/water.

QUESTION:
We have a female and a male ferret. My female ferret's genitals are extremely swollen and have green pus coming out. Her nipples also seem to be red and you can see them more than normal. Is this anything you have heard of and if so would you have any suggestions?

ANSWER:
How old are your ferrets and have they been spayed/neutered? If the female has been spayed then what she has is most likely ADRENAL DISEASE. Go to: www.miamiferret.org. Click on Healthcare and then ADRENAL DISEASE. You will find the signs and symptoms and the treatments, you will need to go to a ferret knowledgeable vet to seek treatment. Until you can see the vet, you need to wash the ferrets vulva by soaking in warm water with a drop of white vinegar, gently squeeze out pus, do it at least twice a day. If it is deep inside then she may need antibiotics, hence a vet visit.

QUESTION:
I have 5 ferrets. 2 males and 3 females. They are all fixed. My oldest male is about 4 years old. For the past 2 weeks he has been biting the females neck and it looks like he is trying to mate. Their is one in particular that he does this to the most. Is this normal, because he is fixed? What is causing this and what can I do about it? It drives me crazy when he does it. This is the first time this has happened.

ANSWER:
Sounds as if your ferret is displaying signs of ADRENAL DISEASE. The behavior you are describing is very common, unfortunately his hormones are out of balance and this is causing the urge to mate. If you have a ferret knowledgeable vet, there are several treatments for this problem. Has he lost any hair, or is his hair thinning, this is another sign of ADRENAL DISEASE? You may want to get info to take to your vet, on the symptoms and also the treatments, by going to: www.miamiferret.org, click on HEALTHCARE, THEN ADRENAL DISEASE.

QUESTION:
I have a 4 year old ferret. She is balding on top of her head right between her ears. She also has started to lick me more especially on my feet (maybe she just likes me more!!!) . Her belly is also becoming sticky and she has been gnawing on her cage alot. Is this just a sign of stress. We did just buy her a larger cage. Any advice would be great.

ANSWER:
It sounds from your description that your ferret is most likely starting with ADRENAL DISEASE. The balding often starts on the head and the licking is because her hormones are now mimicking the breeding cycle. She most likely will continue to lose hair and possibly her vulva will swell.

Please go to: www.miamiferret.org Click on HEALTHCARE and then ADRENAL DISEASE. You will learn about the options you have to treat her.

QUESTION:
Tigger is an older ferret...we figure her to be roughly 7-9 years old....she is showing signs of adrenal disease....loss of hair from tail, that did not grow back...thinner than she use to be. I started her back on baby food, as it has helped her sister, Piglet, prior to her being diagnosed with polysistic kidney disease. Sad to say, that Piglet was laid to rest. The baby food has been a huge help for Tigger and she is not as bony as she was. She still romps around the house, and occasionallychases the cats....

My reason for writing you is that she has some new bothersome habits....she wants to be held much more than before, and then proceeds to lick continually on our arms, hands, etc.... While she doesn't proceed to bite my husband, she does begin to nip and try biting me. And won't stop. I usually put her down or put her back in her cage. When we "adopted" them, Piglet her sister was very passive, never attempting to nip or bite, but Tigger needed some lessons on not nipping when she'd get playing hard....She eventually figured out that biting wasn't allowed, as we would blow in her face, tell her No, or tap her on the nose (gently)......that worked. Now however, I try tapping her nose and telling her NO, blowing in her face...she sits there with a look on face of "Are you done yet?" goes back to licking me and then biting.... She has also gotten more aggressive with the cats on occasion, charging after them, and jumping to bite them....we've been monitoring (and the cats) much closer than before.

Is this a part of the adrenal disease, or is she just getting to be a crotchedy ol' gal? Knowing she is not a youngster, we don't feel it would be right to put her through surgery. I'd like to just allow her to live out her last days as best she can. When she begins to weaken or show signs of anemia, we will make that "final" choice for her....however, as she is jumping up at my folded legs on the chair as I type to get my attention, and nipping at me, I think her health is still just fine!

Please let me know if this aggressiveness and excessive licking is related to the adrenal gland disease, or if she's just looking for added salt & protein in her diet

ANSWER:
Having adrenal disease does cause over excessive sex hormones to be released, which means the ferret is acting as if in heat. All the licking etc.. proves that. You could get her a LUPRON shot or even a melatonin implant will help with the behaviour problems. Go to: www.miamiferret.org Click on HEALTHCARE and then on ADRENAL DISEASE.

You also might want to check the status of her blood glucose, hypoglycemia causes a lot of aggressiveness in ferrets. Look up INSULINOMA on the same site. Since you are giving her babyfood this will help her condition but she may need to go on prednisone along with more of the babyfood

QUESTION:
I have a 2 year old male adopted ferret. Since we adopted a supposedly spayed female dog, (she is not spayed and went into heat). This male ferret is very aggressive with our smallest female ferret, none of the others, since the dog went into heat!! Could this have anything to do with his behavior?? My Daughter has had ferret's for years, 2 with adrenal disease, and says he is too young for this, also he has no other symptoms, like losing hair, etc.. She also works at Angell Hosp. as a C.C.U. Nurse and is a graduate of Cornell's Animal Life Sciences program, so I look to her for advice but she is stumped! Any ideas? I am about to put him up for adoption, as I have to keep him separated and this is not good for him. We have 5, and the other 4 are females. We recently lost our only other male to a sudden onset of cancer. Does he need another male?

ANSWER:
I am presuming he is showing aggressive sexual behavior? If this is so, it most likely is adrenal disease. I had a ferret of only 9 months that constantly mated with his blanket and he would get urinary blockages. He looked absolutely beautiful no hair loss, but I knew his mating behavior stemmed from adrenal problems. My vets were not sure, so I put him on LUPRON injections once a month and he did fine, no more problems. It wasn't until later life when I stopped the Lupron that the hair loss came back and he started to get blocked, he definitely was adrenal. There is a FERRET HEALTH LIST (your daughter might want to join it from the link on my site) that is moderated by experts and there are several experienced vets who answer questions, I have seen quite a few people ask about their young ferrets with adrenal signs, it seems to be quite common from a year and up! If you were to get another male he may exhibit the same behavior with him, my advice would be to start him on the LUPRON, or now available MELATONIN implants which are quite a lot cheaper. Other than that there is an expensive test that can be done, but it would probably be cheaper just to do surgery and in the long run it may be the answer. Your ferret's problem started with the normal 'season'/or heat cycle in a male ferret, because of the overactive hormones they mimic the heat cycle and he obviously is doing what seems natural, the LUPRON/ Melatonin both, will help the symptoms abate.