Fur grew back

Question
My ferett went completely bald. I was told he had adrenal disease.  Never tested for it. In the last month all of his hair grew back.  I am curious as to why. He is full of life, eating well etc.
Thank you

Answer
Hi Barbara:

Usually the first symptom an owner is aware of that points in the direction of adrenal disease is that the ferret's fur either thins or falls out in patches. For some unknown reason, every now and then we find ferrets who will turn right around and grow a new coat of fur at the next season!

The bad news is that this is most likely only a temporary condition and the fur loss will return; when it does, it will probably not come back unless the ferret receives surgery to cure the adrenal disease OR lupron injections to cause the symptoms to stay under control (usually ONLY used when a ferret is either very old or otherwise too sick to undergo a surgery to remove the adrenal gland).

For now, you need do nothing since his fur has returned. However, this might be a good time to start investigating ferret vets in your area who do adrenal surgery and comparing not only their experience, but their prices.  If you feel your ferret is too old or otherwise too ill for surgery, you need to be discussing this with your vet (and maybe another vet for a second opinion) at this time so you have plenty of time to weigh all options open to you.

When the fur loss returns, it will most likely be much quicker and complete and since you have a male ferret, you have the additional concern of the adrenal gland swelling and putting pressure on the prostate, which will show itself by your ferret either taking longer in the litterbox, appearing to strain to urinate, dribbling after urination or taking longer to pee (so DO start to pay attention NOW so you know what "normal" is for your ferret).

Here are two great websites on adrenal disease that will give you even more information:

   http://www.ferretcentral.org/faq/med/adrenal.html

   http://www.petcarevabeach.com/adr.html

Your vet may at some time offer you the Tennessee Panel to test for adrenal disease; but general concensus appears to be that the test is for the most part not reliable at this time, and most vets prefer to just go ahead and put the money that would be spent for the test (hundreds of dollars) towards the cost of surgery, even if that surgery turns out to be an exploratory surgery that shows no adrenal disease....at least you have a *positive* "yes" or "no" that you most likely won't get with the Tennessee Panel.

If you need a good ferret vet (or two for second opinion), you can find some here:

VETS CANADA:   
* http://www.ferretrescue.ca/start.php
* http://tinylink.com/?TlVyYKa6e0
* http://www.ferrets.org/Veterinarian_Listings.htm   (British Columbia)
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html
* http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/sask_ferrets/

VETS USA:
* http://www.quincyweb.net/quincy/vet.html
* http://ferrethealth.org/vets/
* http://www.ferret-universe.com/vets/vetlist.asp
* http://www.ferretsanctuary.com/vets.shtml
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html
* http://ferrethealth.org/vets/

VETS  UK & IRELAND:  
* http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ferreter/vetlist.htm

Be assured that your ferret is not in any pain at this time; enjoy this precious "interval" of health before you and your ferret will be forced to make a very serious decision and go through a rough time together. I do want to assure you, though. Having gone through many adrenal surgeries with my ferrets - if you have a vet you are confident in, it's just a bump in the road and your little one is back on his feet and back to normal in just a matter of a few weeks with just a bit of special care post-surgically.  The best you can do is be PREPARED AHEAD OF TIME and you have plenty of time to do that. You will want to make a hospital cage (one level, using newspaper for litterbox so he doesn't drag those stitches over the step-up on the litterbox), making sure he gets plenty of fluids post-surgically, having Hill's A/D Feline - from your vet's office - to make 'soup' to feed him pre-surgically to get used to it and post-surgically to keep his strength up until his appetite comes back and he eats enough kibble to maintain his weight again. Your vet is your best guide as to when various things need to be done to make sure your ferret stays healthy.

Best of luck - keep me updated and know that I am here to help in any way I can.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers