For All the Ferret-Lovers!!! Good Medical News!!!

[EllenD]

I just read an article in one of the online veterinary journals regarding a controlled-study they just did for the treatment of Adrenal Tumors in Ferrets...Anyone who has owned a Ferret knows that unfortunately most-all Ferrets develop malignant Adrenal tumors between the ages of 3-5 years old (The article stated that it's as high as 85% of Ferrets who develop these cancerous tumors on their Adrenal Glands!) I've never owned a Ferret myself, but my step-father had one from a baby until he died of old age, and he was very much like a dog or a cat, and he loved him very much. And he was so clean! They go in litter-boxes and are like cats in the cleanliness department...

So they have been doing multiple studies on Ferrets using the Deslorelin hormonal-implants that the use to stop chronic egg-laying and hormonal behavior/Feather-Destructive Disease in birds. And apparently the Deslorelin implants are stopping the development of the all-too-common malignant Adrenal tumors in Ferrets!!! So anyone who already has a Ferret or is thinking about getting one, this is something to talk to your small-animal/Exotics Veterinarian about right away when you first bring them home as young babies, or you adopt an adult that is still healthy and has yet to develop the tumors.

 

[ChristaNL]

Also another great development-- overhere you just get advised to get a neutered male to service the females in heat before they die of it... apart from that I hear very little about their health-issues (apart from people still feeding them the wrong diet of course... some people never learn).


I love your updates!

 

[SailBoat]

I have long heard that Ferret's have died young with one of the leading causes being cancerous tumors. This medical news will be well received by those who have Ferrets.

Thanks for the update!

 

[Inger]

Science is cool. I don’t have or want a ferret, but I’m glad for the little critters and the folks who love them that they may be able to love longer and healthier lives.


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[Scott]

A wonderful development, had no idea this is the fate of most Ferrets. They are illegal in California, and none of my friends have any. But they are kept and vets will treat them as needed.

 

[EllenD]

I wasn't aware about the Adrenal Tumors in Ferrets either Scott, I don't even remember studying this in graduate school, which is odd (maybe I missed that day, lol)...But after I read this journal article I jumped online and did a search, and it's apparently the biggest fear of all ferret owner, to the point that people who are bringing home a new baby ferret actually prepare themselves for their new pet to die within 5-6 years of the cancerous tumor...I got onto a ferret forum and someone was talking about how they had one ferret who was 6 and who had no signs of Adrenal Tumors, and everyone on the forum was astonished and telling them how lucky they were...I saw numbers as high as 90% of all captive/pet ferrets developing Adrenal Tumors and dying young from them...

I'm kind of shocked, because to me this isn't "common knowledge" at all (of course it is among ferret owners/enthusiasts, but not in-general)...You'd think something so common would be well-known...

And ironically the day after I wrote this original post I went to the pet shop in my hometown to pick-up some Superworms for my Beardie, and low and behold, I turned around at the counter and there was a huge play-pen with 5 extremely young, baby ferrets!!! I'd never once ever seen a baby ferret before!!! The ferrets you see in most pet shops like Petco, PetSmart, etc. are young but already pretty large...These guys were the length of maybe a guinea pig and width of a hamster!!! They were just tiny little things and were the most adorable little fuzzy creatures I've ever seen in my life! I ask the guy how old they were and he said "We just found a local breeder for them, so we signed a contract. They were just weaned a week before she brought them over to us". That's why I go back to this pet shop (opened in 1992 when I was 13), because all of their live animals are either bred and raised by them in-house or they come from local breeders only, they don't "order" any live creatures from any large vendors at all, not even their fish...But damn them for having those itty bitty baby ferrets!!! I had to get out of there quick!!!