Moon's Graden

by **SoftwareSl** » Thu, 02 Dec 1999 04:00:00

I have had two ferrets so far that have first gotten blackheads on
their tails then lost their tail hair and eventually ended up in
surgery for adrenal disease. One of these died after surgery. So,
after finding blackheads on the tail of one of my favorite fuzzies
last night I got really worried. Has anyone ever had a ferret that
has had blackheads / hair loss but eventually lived a long life
without adrenal disease?

by **Star & Tro** » Thu, 02 Dec 1999 04:00:00

I have recently been wondering this myself.
Last year Loki got rat tail. He got it again this year,
then just as his tail fur was growing back he lost his body fur
and was diagnosed with adrenal.
Now this year Jules has rat tail for the first time, so I
hope we don't have bad news next year :(

Star

Quote:

> I have had two ferrets so far that have first gotten blackheads on
> their tails then lost their tail hair and eventually ended up in
> surgery for adrenal disease. One of these died after surgery. So,
> after finding blackheads on the tail of one of my favorite fuzzies
> last night I got really worried. Has anyone ever had a ferret that
> has had blackheads / hair loss but eventually lived a long life
> without adrenal disease?

by **Robynn McCarth** » Thu, 02 Dec 1999 04:00:00

Personally..I don't think blackheads are related to adrenal disease, and
neither does my vet (who has been dealing in ferrets longer than I have been
living). He has seen many ferrets with blackheads who never did get
adrenal, and many ferrets who have gotten adrenal disease who never had
blackheads in their life.

All off my rescue kids had blackheads when they came to live here. Two of
those were under a year old at the time, one was just about three and one
was two years old. Two of them had blackheads to the point of patchy hair
loss on the tail. They are from different breeders, and three have different
colour patterns. With a little TLC and giving tail baths for about a week,
the blackheads went away and have never returned. Presently (knocking on
wood) none of them have adrenal disease, nor have shown any symptoms of it.

The only correlation I can think of between blackheads and adrenal is
perhaps the change in hormones from the overactive adrenal gland (or glands)
would cause extra sebum to be produced on the skin. This would make the
tail dirtier, the sebum build up seems to contribute to black heads. So, it
might be fair to say that blackheads that are caused by surface dirt that
are confined to just the tail, without any other coat or skin changes are
simply just acne, and that blackheads that are thick and persistent, caused
more by a build up of skin oils that seems to be occurring over the whole
body might possibly have something to do with hormone changes and not
surface dirt. Yellowing of the coat and a stronger overall body odor would
also go along with this.

Then again..maybe not. Some people insist that blackheads mean adrenal
disease is occurring or about to occur. How long can adrenal symptoms lie
dormant before more serious ones like prostate enlargement and symmetrical
body hair loss occur? What about those ferrets who have adrenal and never
have had any acne? What about those ferrets who have had acne once or
twice, and never got adrenal disease? Either way, at this point no one can
say for sure. I'm not saying it doesn't deserve careful study (maybe
something for Dr. Weiss?) but I also don't think the sight of blackheads
should panic ferret owners and make them automatically assume that their
ferret has or is going to get adrenal disease.

Thoughts?

Robynn and the Fearsome Foursome

by **Star & Tro** » Thu, 02 Dec 1999 04:00:00

Well, Loki had his adrenal surgery today at Midwest Bird and *** Animal
Hospital.
Both his adrenal glands were affected (swollen) so the vet removed the right
one.
She also found one insulinoma on his pancreas, which she biopsied.
Not that it really matters, because whether it is cancerous or not
he's still screwed on that account.
And his lymphs were swollen so she biopsied that as well.
She said she was in and out of there very quickly because his heartbeat
was so erratic it really scared her. She said surgery in the future would
not be
an option for him - she's sure he wouldn't make it.

Only good news is that he woke up from the anesthetic okay.
I might be able to get him on Friday.

Have to wait for test results before we can decide what to do next.
I just want him home.

Star

Quote:

> I have recently been wondering this myself.
> Last year Loki got rat tail. He got it again this year,
> then just as his tail fur was growing back he lost his body fur
> and was diagnosed with adrenal.
> Now this year Jules has rat tail for the first time, so I
> hope we don't have bad news next year :(

> Star

by **J. Alan Larki** » Thu, 02 Dec 1999 04:00:00

Damn Star, I am so sorry. I wish only the best for you and Loki, and hope it
gets better. Poor little guy with such a tough row to hoe. It's just doesn't
seem fair. My little Buttons that I received 3/4 starved earlier in the year is
having her own problems, but we keep a close eye on her. She has put on some
really good weight, but is almost totally blind now. That has been developing
for the last couple of months. Doesn't seem to slow her down much though.
Cap

Quote:

> Well, Loki had his adrenal surgery today at Midwest Bird and *** Animal
> Hospital.
> Both his adrenal glands were affected (swollen) so the vet removed the right
> one.
> She also found one insulinoma on his pancreas, which she biopsied.
> Not that it really matters, because whether it is cancerous or not
> he's still screwed on that account.
> And his lymphs were swollen so she biopsied that as well.
> She said she was in and out of there very quickly because his heartbeat
> was so erratic it really scared her. She said surgery in the future would
> not be
> an option for him - she's sure he wouldn't make it.

> Only good news is that he woke up from the anesthetic okay.
> I might be able to get him on Friday.

> Have to wait for test results before we can decide what to do next.
> I just want him home.

> Star

> > I have recently been wondering this myself.
> > Last year Loki got rat tail. He got it again this year,
> > then just as his tail fur was growing back he lost his body fur
> > and was diagnosed with adrenal.
> > Now this year Jules has rat tail for the first time, so I
> > hope we don't have bad news next year :(

> > Star

by **Kenneth Hauper** » Thu, 02 Dec 1999 04:00:00

My prayers are with Loki
Hope he gets better soon

Irene & Zoo

Quote:

> Well, Loki had his adrenal surgery today at Midwest Bird and *** Animal
> Hospital.
> Both his adrenal glands were affected (swollen) so the vet removed the
right
> one.
> She also found one insulinoma on his pancreas, which she biopsied.
> Not that it really matters, because whether it is cancerous or not
> he's still screwed on that account.
> And his lymphs were swollen so she biopsied that as well.
> She said she was in and out of there very quickly because his heartbeat
> was so erratic it really scared her. She said surgery in the future would
> not be
> an option for him - she's sure he wouldn't make it.

> Only good news is that he woke up from the anesthetic okay.
> I might be able to get him on Friday.

> Have to wait for test results before we can decide what to do next.
> I just want him home.

> Star

> > I have recently been wondering this myself.
> > Last year Loki got rat tail. He got it again this year,
> > then just as his tail fur was growing back he lost his body fur
> > and was diagnosed with adrenal.
> > Now this year Jules has rat tail for the first time, so I
> > hope we don't have bad news next year :(

> > Star

by **Sam** » Fri, 03 Dec 1999 04:00:00

Quote:

> I have recently been wondering this myself.
> Last year Loki got rat tail. He got it again this year,
> then just as his tail fur was growing back he lost his body fur
> and was diagnosed with adrenal.
> Now this year Jules has rat tail for the first time, so I
> hope we don't have bad news next year :(

I have one jill who *routinely* gets blackheads on her tail, every
summer, without fail. Well, except this year she still seems to still
have her tail full of fur, but summer's only just started <G> She's now
five years of age, and has had the problem since she was two. What causes
it, I haven't a clue. I did notice that after I started giving her some
Timmys Tonic as a treat last year, the tail fur did come back faster. So
for her at least, maybe it's diet-related.

Sam

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by **Melissa Golde** » Fri, 03 Dec 1999 04:00:00

Star, I'm so sorry for Loki (and you). He's in my thoughts, as are you.
{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}. lets us know what the further test reslults bring,
and how he does tomorrow (Friday) when you bring him home.

Love, -M, E, & C

Quote:

>Well, Loki had his adrenal surgery today at Midwest Bird and *** Animal
>Hospital.
>Both his adrenal glands were affected (swollen) so the vet removed the
right
>one.
>She also found one insulinoma on his pancreas, which she biopsied.
>Not that it really matters, because whether it is cancerous or not
>he's still screwed on that account.
>And his lymphs were swollen so she biopsied that as well.
>She said she was in and out of there very quickly because his heartbeat
>was so erratic it really scared her. She said surgery in the future would
>not be
>an option for him - she's sure he wouldn't make it.

>Only good news is that he woke up from the anesthetic okay.
>I might be able to get him on Friday.

>Have to wait for test results before we can decide what to do next.
>I just want him home.

>Star

>> I have recently been wondering this myself.
>> Last year Loki got rat tail. He got it again this year,
>> then just as his tail fur was growing back he lost his body fur
>> and was diagnosed with adrenal.
>> Now this year Jules has rat tail for the first time, so I
>> hope we don't have bad news next year :(

>> Star

Moon's Graden

Blackheads = Adrenal Disease???

Blackheads = Adrenal Disease???

Blackheads = Adrenal Disease???

Blackheads = Adrenal Disease???

Blackheads = Adrenal Disease???

Blackheads = Adrenal Disease???

Blackheads = Adrenal Disease???

Blackheads = Adrenal Disease???

Blackheads = Adrenal Disease???