From: Lynn McIntosh [faiml@uswest.net] Sent: Monday, December 27, 1999 6:44 PM To: FAIMLanon; FAIML Cc: faiml@miamiferret.org Subject: FAIML #367; Dec. 27, 1999 Ferret Adrenal/Insulinoma Mailing List (FAIML) #367; Dec. 27, 1999 1. Ferret Health - diarrhea/told to give no food 2. weasel update 3. Zackari12/23/99 4. Update on Daisy - furry! 5. Update on Quincy 6. Thanks The FERRET ADRENAL/INSULINOMA MAILING LIST (FAIML) is a group that's come together to share support and information about adrenal and insulinoma diseases. FAIML comes out in digest format three to six times per week, depending on the number of posts sent, and their surgency. FAIML information is the opinion, only, of subscribers, mostly ferret caretakers. It is not medical advice, comes with no guarantee of accuracy, and is not meant to replace the examination and medical oversight of a qualified veterinarian. If your ferret is sick or exhibiting signs of illness take your fur kid to the most ferret- experienced vet you can find! A ferret- experienced vet is one of the most important services you can provide to your ferret. TO POST: Write POST at the end of your subject heading (the more specific you can be in your subject heading, the better) and send to . URGENT POSTS: If you feel the message is urgent please mark it POST URGENT and I'll send it out to subscribers as soon as I can, then include the message in the next list. CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS: Please write POST ANONYMOUS after your subject heading if you don't want your address or last name published. SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE: Just use the one address for posts, subscription questions, requests, cancellations, comments, etc. The list is run by hand so just send me an email. ADRENAL/INSULINOMA WEBSITE: FAIML ARCHIVES/PHOTOS: Past FAIMLs are being archived, with a search feature, on Michael Janke's adrenal/insulinoma web site: . Michael is also kindly posting pictures of FAIML subscribers and the ferrets at this site in the FAIML Album. Check out his site for more info. PAM GREENE's FERRET FAQs: I suggest people read (and reread) Pamela Greene's Disease FAQ's on Insulin and Adrenal diseases, as they offer a good background. I forward them to all new subscribers, and will gladly send them upon request. I also send the "Disease Package", a file that tells how to get all six of Pamela Greene's FAQs on ferret diseases. Pam also has excellent FAQ's about general ferret care as well, and a link to these may be found on the FERRET CENTRAL web site: . THE FERRET MAILING LIST (FML): The FML has 3,000+ ferret-loving subscribers and the topic is simply ferrets, ferrets, and more ferrets. Moderated by Mr. Bill Gruber, it's a great source of ferret entertainment and information. Visit FERRET CENTRAL on the web (see paragraph above) for more info on the FML. To subscribe to the FML, send email to its moderator, Bill Gruber, at and ask to be added. You can also try subscribing automatically by sending email to with the command SUBSCRIBE FERRET in the body of the email. 1. Ferret Health - diarrhea/told to give no food From: "JLO" Date sent: Mon, 27 Dec 1999 17:35:27 -0600 I have been receiving this list for some time and recently lost my oldest 6 year old ferret to adrenal disease. (seems like yesterday; actually it was June 6, 1999) My other two ferrets 3 & 2 1/2 year olds have been very healthy and not shown any signs of any disease (unless being spoiled rotten is a disease). We just got an albino kit for Christmas. Bad news for my two ferrets who ruled the house...they grab her by the head and neck and drag her around. I immediately separated them to different rooms and these two now have been on a weeklong quest to find the new intruder! Several days after the introduction - little girl Caty begin vomiting and having green mucous diarreah. Big boy Cody just has mushy green diarreah. So off to the vet we go. She sampled stool and gave each a shot that made them sleepy and said no food; just water for 24 hours. Next day, another stool sample, another shot and again said no food. They kept looking into the empty food bowl and looking at me as if I were starving them. The next day (now basically 4 days with out food - gosh how terribly cruel this seems...) she said they could eat this prescription canned cat food as fevers were down and no more vomiting and stools were returning to normal. (She really dried them up from both ends). Now - you didn't think they would just eat this stuff?... they eat totally ferret. So we tried spoon, syringe, mixing with chicken baby food, shoving, stuffing, hiding, treating and to no avail they maybe ate 2 teaspoonsful on Christmas eve. I decided to just give them their food back; now they won't touch it! And they still amble around looking for that fuzzy they think has made them feel bad, eaten all their food and stolen some of their favorite toys (as well as taking valuable quality time from ferret frenzied owners). Can anybody give suggestions, comments as to why my older ferrets hate this kit? and have seemingly made theirselves sick over the matter; and why the vet says no food til diarreah is cleared up? Thanks for all your input! e-mail me at jrleague@nwol.net - Susan Jones 2. weasel update From: "Holly Domanick" Date sent: Wed, 22 Dec 1999 18:46:26 EST Hi Everyone, I just wanted to let everyone know weasel's surgery was this past Friday. She is doing great. It's amazing how these little creatures can bouce back. The right adrenal surgery turned out to be more complicated than first thought. When she opened her up she found the liver was attached to her other organs. She had to remove a portion of it to get to the adrenals. She had a lot of bleeding right after surgery. It was scary for a day or two. The adrenals were a little big and discolored. We don't know yet if it was cancer. Her left one was last year. The vet took her home with her for 4 days to care for her. The first night she got up with her every 3 hours. She is a very dedicated and caring vet. She is having trouble getting the pedipred. We have her on reg. predisone cut into 8 pieces. Thats not easy to do. She said that dose is even a little higher than she needs. We go back on Tuesday to have her electrolites tested. She is eating good. I sure had my Christmas miracle. I get to keep my angel onearth for a while longer. Thanks to Mary McCary from the pfra State College for putting me in contact with Dr. Marx it made this the best Christmas season ever. Dooks to all. I wish everyone the same miracle. Eileen & Weasel 3. Zackari12/23/99 From: "Kathy Clark" Date sent: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 11:11:19 -0500 Good morning, Lynn: I just spoke to Dr. Prezant. The pathology came back on Zackari and it's a carcinoma just like the left one. This doesn't surprise me. Dr. Prezant wanted some information on Lupron, so I sent him the info from FML about the lupron study. I just wanted to let you know. Zackari is feel so much better right now. We will enjoy him as much as we can. I don't think I want to put him through another surgery just to get another three months. My best to you & your family Lynn. You've been great through this whole thing. Kathy Clark & Zackari fuzzy. 4. Update on Daisy - furry! From: Robert Dejournett Date sent: Wed, 22 Dec 1999 12:17:49 -0600 (CST) Hi all, Exciting, wonderful news. Daisy, my adrenal ferret (5 year old female, MF) who had lupron depot 2mg in November (early November I think), started to grow back fur a week ago, and now there is quite an abundance of hair everywhere. The hair started growing in pretty much everywhere, except her tail which is riddled with blackheads that I can't seem to get rid of. So now she seems much more like a 'normal' ferret. Except that she isn't. Also she had vaginal swelling and discharge, and that completely cleared up weeks before the hair came back. However, as exciting as this is, I think it's important for lupron users to keep in mind that this does not mean the tumor will reduce in size. I am hoping, however, the growth will be stopped. I personally think that it is possible the tumor will reduce in size because of a lack of growth factors, but that's just my hope. Anyway just thought I'd share the happy news with you all. Rob -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Robert Dejournett rdej@gsbs3.gs.uth.tmc.edu Graduate Student Graduate School of Biomedical Science University of Texas Houston 5. Update on Quincy From: Jennifer McCaskill Date sent: Sat, 25 Dec 1999 22:50:48 -0500 Hello, everyone! Just wanted to give you all an update on Quincy's progress. I posted a couple of weeks (or so) ago about my 7.5-year-old ferret Quincy, who had just undergone surgery for an adrenal tumor and wasn't drinking water on her own yet. I'm happy to report that she is now drinking *and* eating her kibble all on her own. She's even started growing fur!! I'm so excited! I think the problem was that her chicken gravy was so watery that she didn't really feel a need to drink plain water. Once we got her back on her regular kibble, she started drinking water quite happily. Now all we have to do is get her back in the cage with Marvin, her 6-year-old playmate. They've shared a cage since Marvin was a kit, but every time Quincy gets sick or has surgery, he attacks her. We're careful to keep them separated until Quincy feels well enough to fight back; once she smacks him around a little, he starts behaving normally again. This time they've been separated for over 3 weeks, and Marvin's behavior toward her has been worse than usual. I guess it will just take time to get them back together. Meanwhile, we're switching their hammocks every day and keeping lots of bitter apple on Quincy's neck. :-) Thanks to everyone who responded to my original question. I appreciate your suggestions and kind thoughts very much! Cheers, Jennifer, Quincy, Marvin, Penny, and Xena ---------- Jennifer McCaskill jmccaski@gmu.edu 6. Thanks From: Glenn Johnson Date sent: Wed, 22 Dec 1999 17:37:06 -0700 Ferret Lovers As the year 1999 closes, Chuki and I wish all of you a happy holiday and, for the year 2000, peace and tranquility. Special thanks to Michael Janke, for the most informative ferret health web site on the internet, Dr. Karen Purcell, the "resident" DVM, and to the person who makes it possible for us to share our information, our joy and our heartaches with others who care, Lynn McIntosh. God bless you all, God bless our beloved little ferrets Glenn and Chuki ----------------------- End of FAIML #377 -------------------------