Ferret Footnotes


September 2002
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Melatonin: Another Treatment Option for Adrenal Gland Disease by Jerry Murray, DVM   Animal Clinic of Farmers Branch


Adrenal gland disease is one of the most common problems seen in pet ferrets. It is commonly seen in middle aged to older ferrets (age 3-7 years). In ferrets with adrenal gland disease, the adrenal gland(s) is overproducing the sex hormones (estrogen, progestins. and testosterone) and/or the androgens (DHEA, Andro). These hormones cause the clinical problems. The common problems are alopecia (the bald ferret), itchy skin, an enlarged vulva (females), an enlarged prostate (males), increase in body odor, increase in aggressive behavior ("steroid rage"), a return of sexual behavior (neck grabbing, mounting, and even pelvic thrusting), and anemia from estrogen-induced bone marrow toxicity.

Medical treatment instead of surgery may be needed in geriatric ferrets, ferrets with other illness that would make anesthesia and surgery a high risk, or in cases where the owner declines surgery. There are 2 products that can be used to stop the stimulation to the adrenal glands, and thus stop the overproduction of the hormones. The first product is Lupron depot (see the July newsletter) and the other is melatonin.

Melatonin is a natural hormone that is secreted by the pineal gland. Melatonin is involved in activating (in the spring) and terminating (in the fall) the natural breeding season. Higher levels of melatonin are released in the fall during the dark hours. This is wha
t stops the breeding season, causes the ferret to put on its winter coat, and its extra weight for the winter. Recent work at the University of Wisconsin and Texas A&M has shown that melatonin also helps control adrenal gland disease. There is an injectable melatonin implant that is FDA approved for use in mink. It is a slow release product that last for roughly 4 months. Texas A&M and I are currently doing a pilot study using the male mink melatonin implant. Melatonin tablets can also be used. A suggestive dose is 1 mg per ferret orally, once a
day, roughly 8-9 hours after sunrise. As you can imagine, it is not easy to pill a ferret every day. Thus the implant may be the better way to go. So far most of the ferrets regrow their fur and gain weight in 1-2 months after the implant is given. In addition the implant is a low cost option to treat adrenal gland disease. Plus it can be used with Lupron. It can also be used with Propecia for males with prostate problems, and with Arimidex for females with estrogen-induced anemia.

For more information about the implant call Dr Murray at 972-247-2221.
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From the Desk of Saly Dog


RINGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
 
Hello, Salty Dog here, hows can I fix dat broken heart?

Aww, there now little sweet cakes, don't you cry, just whats bodderin de little girl, hummmmmmmmm, tells old Salty Dogs all abouts it. 

Oh, I's so  sorry, Lit'l Angel, dats too bads dat yous losin dat sleep.  Why dats one of de biggest pasttimes in all of ferretdom, ta gets one's naps in.  How longs you's been having dis problem?  NOO, dey done puts a night lights in your rooms?  Don'ts dey know dat messes wif your life cycles? Yep, deys doin research on dat and its leading dem to tink it plays a part in our high rate of adrenal problems, dat and takin aways our organs before we gets to developin dem.  You poor kid you, I really feels  for you.  If'n you cans gets your humans to puts a big ole heavy blankey over your cage, dat will blocks out dat lights so your hormones won'ts gets all confused.  Dats de bestest way, unless you developes thumbs ta unscrew dat bulb. Annudder good ways if'n you can'ts gets dere attention is to dig your ways up inta de couch, pulls outs some of dat stuffin and leaves it layin arounds so dat dey knows where your ats or dey'll be bouncing off de ceiling, crying and amashing dat irritating squeeky toy til dey finds you .  Nuttins worse dan tryin to drinks your ferratone outta de bottle wif a hysterical human holding on ta its.  And den, dose dat don't tink likes us, might locks ya in your cage ta go ta Home Depots ta buys stuff ta blocks up de couch ta keeps you out instead of fixin you your own little dark den ta sleeps in.  A nice wraped Coke can pkg wif a little covered hole in de end and a baby blanket inside would solve all dem problems, fits rights into da cage, too.  De darker de better, I always says, den it don't matters who's ya foughts wif all days long, deys friends in dere.

 AAAHHH???   you wants me ta bore ya ta sleep??  Of course, I's nots boring.    Now why would you ask dat?   You read WHAT?   WHERE?  Oh you read on de walls of de girls' pottybox "To Bore Yourself to Sleep, Call Salty Dog!         No, no,  dats okay, no problem, I'll takes care of dis, sorry abouts de misunderstanding dere.  

GRANDMAAAAA! dem girls done chewed off de eras
er on de marksalot dey was using, ya wants me to get de Amoxy out? de PINK Amoxy!  de VERY pinkpink Amoxy!   :D
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Us and Them  by H.T. Wheeler

Recently I experienced  mixed emotions leaving the pet hospital; I had taken a ferret in and now was taking her home to her final resting spot and also taking another home for the first time to join my family.

Penny was a very mature, naked, post-adrenal surgery, sprite when I adopted her 9 months earlier. A very wonderful lady adopted her and paid for her surgery, but Penny got sick again and she could not care for her as she had no experience with ferrets and already was fostering a large number of cats and dogs. I was made aware of Penny and when I picked her up at the animal clinic, she looked so sad and forgotten. For two months she recovered, grew her hair back, and became a happy, playful companion. She gave us her affections and obviously appreciated her new home. Unfortunately she developed insulinoma, and the large doses of steroids eventually left her with little immunity. Her last month was spent in one crisis after another

Munchkin is a very young petite sprite. She had been given up to the Humane Society in Fort Worth with a compound fracture of her right rear leg.  When I learned of her situation I decided to adopt her. I did not know as I picked her up at the shelter I would have my Penny for only one more week. Munchkin was taken to Dr. Kendrick, who was caring for Penny. We next learned the fracture was at least two weeks old and mending incorrectly. To fix it would require re-breaking the bone and placing a pin to hold it in the best position. Things were further complicated by the possibility of nerve damage. I decided to go ahead with the surgery. For the next three days Munchkin and Penny were there together.

Then the day came to take them both home. Once I was in the exam room, Dr. Kendrick informed me Penny was not getting better; it was now best to set her free from her discomfort. I had to face the awful decision. I left that afternoon heavy with grief and at the same time overjoyed for this new member of my family.

Munchkin is doing very well. Her repaired leg is less flexible and she still favors it, never the less, she flies around the room like any juvenile ferret. I do not think of Munchkin as a replacement for Penny - that would be impossible. Penny was a unique individual, as affectionate and gentle a soul as I have ever known.

Lately, I have thought a lot about the people who Penny and Munchkin lived with before they came to me. I do not assume they are irresponsible or "bad" - maybe they are, maybe they are not. I do not know what their situation was. I do know there are two types of people when it comes to animals: those who take them to a shelter or just dump them somwhere when times get tough, and those who take in these orphans as members of their family to experience love for the first time. That is the difference between "us and them".

A personal note: Dr. Roger Kendrick is the vet who provided exemplary care for Penny and Munchkin. More important, his compassion for patient and client is remarkable.  My special heartfelt thanks to him for pulling us through this.
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Member Spotlight by Beccy Parrish

This month’s member spotlight is Nadine and Robert Hurst. I
t all started about a year and a half ago, when their son-in-law discovered a ferret wandering around his back yard.  Nadine found herself intrigued with this little guy, who was an albino fuzzy, though she uses the term "guy" loosely, having no actual idea of its gender.  Robert contacted his friend, Mike Runyon, a FLC member whom he had known for several years and whom he knew to be a ferret expert, to ask about its care. After finding the albino’s home and returning it, Nadine (and Robert) decided they wanted two of their own.

Soon Nadine was put in touch with Kathy Lucy who had some kits for adoption. They adopted the last three of the litter, two boys (Max and Sam) and their gang leader, Lily (a female).  Thanks to Millie, the honeymoon was smooth as silk.  That was .... up until a couple of months ago.

Nadine and Robert rescued an ignored and caged little girl, whom they naturally fell in love with and trashed all plans for adopting her out.  Believing that the new addition would fit in well with the old gang, they put Nicki in with them for the first time.  Lily (the boss) immediately attacked her, giving both humans their first experience with that unmistakable sound, known affectionately as "the scream".  From that time on, Nicki lived in the family room. Then Nate came along.  Being from the Austin rescue group, he was quite the biter but also very sweet and playful. His first night home, Nicki crawled into his crate with him and the two have been bussom buddies ever since. Since Nate is also a gang reject, he and Nicki have taken over all but the master bedroom (which is gang territory).

Nadine and Robert recommend to anyone wanting a ferret to first visit with a family thathas them to see what all is involved and what to expect. They both highly recommend Ferrets for Dummies as a resource for any and all ferret lovers.  They also suggest gettinginvolved with the FLC and becoming a member in good standing and subscribing to the web list.  Nadine concludes by saying, "When you add five ferrets to a household of two yorkies and two cats, it's very interesting. Ferrets are very addictive, I'm hooked!"

So are we, Nadine.

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Did you Know . . . ?
That the Lakota words for ferret are "Itopa Sapa" and "Hitunkasan"?




Vet Profile
Name:
Kevin Shurtleff, DVM

Where id you grow up?
Seguin, TX and before that in McAllen, TX

Where did you go to college and Vet school (including internships)?
Texas A&M (I'm a good aggie vet.)


Where have you previously practiced?
I practiced in Belton, TX for 1 year right after I got out of school and I have also practiced in Weslaco, TX for 1 and 1/2 years.

Where are you currently practicing?
Dallas County Veterinary Hospital in Mesquite, TX

What is your favorite animal?
My favorite animal is a yorkshire terrier named Annie

What pets do you currently have at home?
I have two dogs at home. Annie and Spice who is a tibetan spaniel. I also have an african grey parrot named Petey and a sinaloan milksnake named Slim that I keep at the clinic.

What kind of hobbies do you have?

Reading and gardening

What general information about your family would you like to share? (Married? Howlong? Children? etc.?)
My wife's name is Kay. We have been married 11 years. She teaches high school english in Mesquite. We don't have any human children, just our pets.

Is there any additional information you wish to share about yourself that you think our readers would find interesting?
Our clinic was first started in 1973. We're an American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) certified clinic and try very hard to practice high
quality medicine. I enjoy working with all the exotic animals and dealing with the special needs that they have. I was glad the city of Mesquite
recently legalized ferrets. It decriminalized many of our clients!
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Corrections

This was sent to us by Dr. Jerry Murray concerning the wrong information printed about what Lupron is:
"
There is some inaccurate material in the "What is Lupron?" square on page 3 of the July footnotes. Lupron will LOWER the levels of GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone, LH (luteinizing hormone), and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone). There are LH receptors on the adrenal glands. It is the high LH levels in spayed/neutered ferrets, kept under "long day photoperiods" that stimulate the adrenal glands to over produce the sex hormones. This chronic overstimulation of the adrenal glands causes the hyperplasia and tumor formation. Lupron lowers the LH levels. Thus it stops the stimulation to the adrenal glands, so most of the adrenal glands stop producing the sex hormones. Roughly 90% of my cases over the past 4.5 years have responded real well to Lupron on a monthly basis."

Thank you Dr. Murray for cathcing that for us.

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In Defense of Ferrets by Linda Good


This month, I am starting on a series that may last a couple more months depending on what happens.  Millie asked that I interview a few people from the Dallas animal control and find out how the Dallas law is enforced etc. I started at the Dallas Animal Control line listed on the City of Dallas web. A nice lady named Alberta answered the phone. Though nice, she was very confused. She had never heard of a ferret. She did not know if they were legal or not but if they were a domestic animal they were legal if they were not a nuisance. We ended the conversation by my explaining to her what a ferret was and her referring me to someone that might know more.

From there I called another Animal Control in Forney (also under the City of Dallas) and talked to Jill. Jill sent me the ordinance on ferrets that follows:

Prohibited Animals:

A.    means an animal, other than a common domestic species and regardless of state or duration of captivity, that poses a potential physical or disease threat to the public or that is protected by international, federal, or state regulations, including but not limited to the following:

1. Class Reptilia:    . . .

2. Class Aves:   . . .

3. Class Mammalia:  . . . Family Felidae  (  such as ocelots, margays, tigers, jaguars, leopards, and cougars),   Family Canidae ( such as wolves, wolf-dog hybrids, dingos, coyotes and jackals)  . . . Family Mustelidae ( such as weasels, skunks, ferrets, martins, mink and badgers) Family Procyonidae  (raccoon);  Family Ursidae (such as bears) . . . Order Marsupialia (such as kangaroos and common opossums);  Order edentata (such as sloths, anteaters and armadillos)  Order Proboscidea (elephants) Order Primata (such as monkeys, chimpanzees and gorillas) ;  Order Rodentia (such as porcupines) and Order Ungulata ( such as antelope, deer, bison, and camels)

4. Animals not Listed:  The director may declare any species of animal not listed in this Subsection as "prohibited" if the confinement of the animal within the city can be shown to constitute a threat to public health and safety.

Jill refused to give me her last name but told me that unless someone gets bit they probably are not even going to respond to a complaint call about ferrets.  No one usually goes out to check at all.  Now if someone gets bit that is a different story but she has yet to run across that.

In the meantime, Walt has contacted Mayor Laura Miller and trying to get a meeting with her.  If this happens, he hopes to bring our friendliest  laid-back ferret and ask her if this little creature is as dangerous as a bear.

More to follow.
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