Signs of Adrenal Disease in Ferrets

Your ferret's adrenal glands synthesize particular hormones in your pet. The two small glands are near your ferret's kidneys. When these glands go out of whack, various issues arise in your ferret. Overactive adrenal glands produce excess sex hormones, which can make even spayed and neutered animals exhibit sexual behaviors. The affected adrenal gland usually increases in size. Adrenal disease usually appears in ferrets between the ages of 3 and 4, although it can affect older animals.

Hair loss usually begins at the tail, eventually leaving large areas of your ferret bald. Besides hair loss, signs and symptoms of adrenal disease include itching so severe that your pet ends up with lesions from incessant scratching. Spayed female ferrets often experience swelling of the vulva because of all the extra hormones kicking in. In males, those hormones can cause prostrate problems, so your pet experiences difficulty urinating. That's a veterinary emergency. Either sex can become more aggressive, although it's more common in males. Increased water consumption and abdominal distention also occur. Females are more prone to anemia. If she appears lethargic, check her gums. Anemia produces pale, whitish gums.

Some ferrets develop tumors on the adrenal glands. Benign tumors, or adenomas, don't spread beyond the one gland on which they're located. Adenocarcinomas are malignant and eventually spread throughout the body. Although the treatment for these tumors is the same as other sorts of ferret adrenal disease, the prognosis for ferrets diagnosed with adenocarcinomas isn't good.

After diagnosing your pet's disease via hormonal blood testing, ultrasound and X-rays, your vet might recommend surgery to remove the adrenal glands, the treatment of choice. After the surgery, she might prescribe drugs for hormone suppression, the type of which depends on whether your ferret is male or female. If your vet doesn't think surgery is a good option for your ferret, she can administer monthly injections of a drug called Lupron, which stops signs of the disease. However, it's not a cure and your ferret must receive these injections for the rest of his life. While there's no definite way to prevent adrenal disease in ferrets, early spaying or neutering might prevent it in young animals, according to petMD.