Possible Adrenal?

[rodent_girl_1985]

We have two ferrets, Freddy and Sydney. Both are fixed and both are a little over three years old. The previous owners said they were from Marshalls .
Last month I noticed that Sydney seemed to have lost some weight. I took her to the vet for a check up and he said she'd actually gained weight from the last time she had been there. He said she looked really good and not to worry about her.
I just noticed this evening that she has some hair loss on her tail and her private area seems to be swollen (though I can't be too certain, I don't make a habit of check that area out). We're taking her to the vet again tomorrow to have it checked out.
I was just wondering if this is possible adrenal disease?
And if it is, what can I expect? Is it curable? Is the surgery very expensive?
I'm not too worried about the cost. The vet we go to is always giving us breaks and lets is make payments.

[mandycoot]

Sorry I can't help, but I wanted to direct you to Ferret Village, and excellent ferret forum that should be able to answer your questions better than most of us can here.

[Poppyseed]

That sounds like adrenal to me (the vaginal swelling). Price differs from area and expertise. Surgery is the only cure and it is expensive ): I would start her on Lupron and a melatonin implant right now and save save save for the surgery. If she is older than 5 I would consider if it's in her best interest to do surgery. Gidgett is adrenal and loosing fur but the melatonin implant is helping her tons and I will start her on Lupron asap. The melatonin implant stopped the vaginal swelling (it's back to normal yay!). These medications only slow down or stop the growth of the tumor and stop the signs of adrenal. They do not cure adrenal.

It's hard to see but it's a very slow disease so if you get her on meds she should be fine while you save up. I never got it done because the physical signs in my ferret are more obvious but a blood test can possibly show you if she is. Exploratory surgery is the only way to confirm though.

Due to cost and age (Gidget will be 7 soon) I am electing to just medicate Gidgett and to not do surgery. My vet advised against it for her so I am listening to him (even if cost wasn't a issue it still has a long long recovery time for her age and he thinks it will inhibit her quality of life by that). It's sad to see her loose fur but I'm hoping the lupron will stop that process. She is a healthy weight and still seems spunky for her age if not a little slow. She doesn't climb but still loves to play.

Definitely talk to your vet about it. The vaginal swelling could possibly be a infection but doubtful as she is spayed. You could try a round of antibiotics to be on the safe side. That's what I did at first.

[rodent_girl_1985]

It is adrenal. We're taking her in on monday to be tested, but theres no doubt that it is.
We're just going to do the treatment, not the surgery. Unfortunately, the closest vet that does this surgery is 4 hours away and charges $300. So it's just impossible for us.

[Poppyseed]

Wish I could find someone that just charges $300 for the surgery ): The prices I was quoted was more in the $1000-$1500 range.

Adrenal is slow so like I said if your girl is young you can elect medicine and save up for surgery. Unfortunately medication doesn't quite cut it in all cases and will not cure adrenal but good luck to you. Also Lupron is probably just as expensive as that price in surgery to give you a heads up.

Good luck to you and your girl.