SUPRELORIN IMPLANT for ferrets??

[guest]

hey guys so i have two brother hobs both coming up to a year and are going through rut meaning im having to keep them apart etc etc and one of my boys seems to be extremely aggressive i.e licking my hands a lot and any body part and then biting me or when i move away he'll jump at me and attack out of frustration or need (im guessing he thinks im a possible mate or something haha) so i considered possibly having them castrated just to maybe chill things out a bit.

So today i went and stopped by my local vets and asked about a price for it all, and they turned around and said to me that it wasnt suggested to castrate ferrets anymore due to future health issues leading to adrenal disease, they went on to say how a suprelorin implant is now inserted into ferrets and lasts for up to 12 months (so would have to be renewed) at a price of £120 per ferret!!!! crazy! bare in mind the vets i go to suggests i feed my ferrets kibble (which i dont i raw feed) so this is why im hesitant on their thoughts and suggestions...

personally i dont think i'll be going ahead with this choice due to the price and also i dont like the idea of implants or any kind of jabs/injections as it is :/

so what im asking of you guys IS:

1. have you heard about this and whats your thoughts??

and also the biggest question!

2. can i get my ferret castrated elsewhere?? is it wrong?

i want to do whats best for them! so if it does mean keeping them intact then so be it...


let me know guys!
IM FROM THE UK by the way so i dont know if the same applies for vets elsewhere!

<3

[unclejoe]

Hi.
Suprelorin has been used in the UK for chemical castration for some time. It only recently became available in the US. Our ferrets are required by law in most places to be neutered before they are sold, so they are altered as young as 5-6 weeks. There is a strong body of opinion that this leads to adrenal disease later. I have only had one ferret that was altered later (around 9 months) and he started showing signs of adrenal a few months after his 4th birthday. On this side of the Pond, Suprelorin is used to treat adrenal disease. Whole ferrets are owned by breeders in 95% of cases, and there are precious few of those.
I'm sure you could find a vet willing to do the surgery. It's pretty simple.

[Thérèse]

Suprelorin is definitely considered an alternative to desexing and while there is not conclusive study yet, there is hope that it will prevent adrenal (although other factors like lighting do play a part in this).

I am an aussie and so the term suprelorin is familiar. Over in the states it is called deslorin. So go to the health and medical board and check the threads on Deslorin to see if this may be the route you wish to take.

I'm not big on injections etc. either. All my ferrets are desexed.

[Sherry]

If given the opportunity I would definitely use the implant over desexing. I have dealt with adrenal disease FAR too many times not to. It is a horrible horrible disease that quite literally ravages their body. And then you have to use the implant to treat it anyway.

[Heather]

I too, consider the use of the DES (superlorin) to chemical castrate rather than surgically castrating. I lost my beautiful boy to adrenal late last fall, he'd been a late alter (5 yrs) and developed adrenal at 9 yrs. They claim that a ferret starts the sliding road to adrenal the first season after their surgical alter. Using the chemical superlorin to alter is actually more economical to use than using it to fight adrenal later
ciao