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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2014 15:24:04 GMT -5
I have three jills, and its coming round to the time for Suki to have her implant changed (its a Suprelorin implant). Initially i opted to have her implanted rather than spayed because she's a rescue i have no real idea about how old she is, and i was worried about spaying too early. I have another jill who also has an implant but i have no idea if she is spayed or not, her vulva always sticks out, so with Kiko we opted to do it just to make sure we didn't miss it if she did come into season. Missy isn't spayed and doesn't have an implant; we opted for a jill jab when she came into season because i'm being indecisive about the whole thing. I cant decide if i should continue implanting all three or have my girls spayed, the only issue i have with the implant is the cost. For all three implants its about £270 (which is $458) every couple of years, which with planning and saving is no problem. My concern is if an emergency occurs at around the same time, i'd struggle. So i've been considering spaying, but my biggest worry here is adrenals disease. I've been trying to find out by how much it will increase their chances of developing the disease if i have my girls spayed but i've found no concrete stats as of yet, does anyone know if there are any at all? Can they still develop adrenals if they have never been spayed?
I have a horrible feeling of dread, if i make the decision to spay them, and they develop adrenals, that it would be solely my fault. I'd never forgive myself. My hob is neutered, but i had no choice in that so I'm also looking into changing the amount of lighting they are exposed too. Its something i'd read about when doing initial research before i adopted my fuzzballs but i didn't realise just how seriously it effect them. I just want to do whats best for them in the long run, so any advice or stats that you guys have would be very much appreciated.
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Post by Sherry on Jun 14, 2014 20:33:01 GMT -5
First- how old are they? Where do YOU live? Do they live indoors with you, or outside in a shed. Lighting also plays a huge role. If they are a year or so plus, you are anywhere but North America, and they live outside you have the odds with you.
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Post by unclejoe on Jun 14, 2014 21:23:59 GMT -5
Adrenal disease seems to be much more common in North America than is UK. But we have had only one late-alter male (at 9 months), and he started showing signs of adrenal around 4 1/2 years. Ours are kept indoors. They have access to plenty of dark places to sleep, but of course we keep our home lighted as needed.
You may be able to see a scar running from bum to waist indicating they've been spayed, if they are young enough. It may fade with age. You don't have to get them done all at once. The implants should be good for a year.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2014 13:13:19 GMT -5
We're in the UK. Im not sure how old precisely they are, as they're rescues but Suki was a kit when she was handed into the RSPCA, they had her for 6 months before i adopted her, so i'm pretty sure she was two sometime this spring. Missy, we're (and the vet agrees) guessing is about two years old as well, just judging from her teeth etc and Kiko we think is a bit older, maybe three, possibly four (or she's just had a difficult past) she's missing a few teeth and the ones she does have aren't pearly whites like Missy and Suki. I've looked for a scar and i can't see one, and neither could the vet. They live indoors, they have their own room where the light is never really on unless i need it. They are free roam though, so they play in rooms that are lit when its dark out.
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Post by Heather on Jun 15, 2014 15:02:12 GMT -5
As more and more ferrets become pets and start living in their ferrants homes instead of living in outdoor hutches, they're seeing an increase in adrenal disease. Seeing a spay scar is rare and often even vets cannot tell by looking. The quandary you're in is becoming more common with rescues as people are realizing how dangerous spaying and neutering is for the longevity and health of their ferrets but ageing is very much a "best guess" deal unless the history is actually known. So, as I see it you're totally unaware as to who is altered and who's not? I suppose you could do the surgeries at this time and if they don't need it the vet could just stitch them up (I'm not fond of this one but it is there) You could ultra sound them but you could buy a lot of implants for the cost of an ultra-sound. The "so-called" perfect scenario now is to alter after a year and implant at that time and to implant every year thereafter. This uses the DES implant as a preventative not a method of chemical castration. This is being advocated by the Australian vets who deal with a lot of intact ferrets. As you can see this still means laying out the cost of an annual DES implant. You could wait and see who comes into season by not implanting at this time....unfortunately I'm afraid I don't have a lot of suggestions or at least cheaper ones   ciao |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2014 12:54:51 GMT -5
The RSPCA centre i adopted them from only neuters the males, and leaves spaying the females optional, which i've never understood, so my hob in definitely neutered. I know for definite that two of my jills are NOT spayed and its only one out of the four that i'm not sure of. I think after all the advice i've been given, i'm just going to continue implanting all three of my girls. Would you advise having my hob implanted too then as he is neutered? I didn't realise it was a preventative measure, i thought it was something that was only done after they contracted the disease.
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Post by lyles on Jun 18, 2014 15:09:46 GMT -5
The RSPCA centre i adopted them from only neuters the males, and leaves spaying the females optional, which i've never understood, so my hob in definitely neutered. I know for definite that two of my jills are NOT spayed and its only one out of the four that i'm not sure of. I think after all the advice i've been given, i'm just going to continue implanting all three of my girls. Would you advise having my hob implanted too then as he is neutered? I didn't realise it was a preventative measure, i thought it was something that was only done after they contracted the disease. Yeah, that doesn't make sense at all, since males can live just fine unaltered but females must mate or get jill jabbed/des'ed. If not, they will go into extended estrus and die. |
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Post by Heather on Jun 18, 2014 20:55:52 GMT -5
It has been suggested that the DES be used as a adrenal preventative for ferrets who've been surgically altered. The facts in this area are still gray but it does appear to be pointing toward using the DES as a adrenal preventative after a surgical alter
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2014 3:01:18 GMT -5
To update, i decided against having them spayed and sticking with the implant, for now at least  Thanks for the info guys, it really helped me towards my decision. |
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