observations re: the Big 3 +

[unclejoe]

 Of my 30 ferrets only 12 have been female. 3 have had adrenal, and Miss Prissy (Real Canadian) was nearly 8 yo when she first showed signs, and she lived past 10, the oldest ferret we've had. Kahlua was 6 at first dx. She made it to about 7 1/2. Prissy was a Real Canadian.  

7 males had it, but a lot of them were re-home/rescues with uncertain birthdates, adopted when I was a rookie. I will say that as I gained experience and knowledge from this site and many others, the incidence of adrenal decreased dramatically. At one time I was treating 3 adrenal pts at once, and Prissy was the last one. Prissy passed over 4 years ago. Abita (F) and Prissy lived over 3 years on pred and des. Some of the males got blessed by the Big 3 comorbidly and went quick. Larry, Jaffa and Sumo.  Jaffa was doing well in des implants, but there was a nearly 10 month period when they were unavailable, and that did him in.

Also, the prevalence of lymphoma seemed higher in my males, but not every case was diagnosed by a vet.  And some were so aggressive it was barely 2 months between onset of signs and the End.  In these cases, there's nothing to be done. 

I think 6 cases of insulinoma, which favored females, with adrenal co-morbidity in 2 males.  Insulinoma prognosis was ~18 months with prednisolone, but Abita was over 24 months. Prissy had so much going on at 10 years old it was difficult to put her down despite being barely able to walk and total incontinence. 

Back when this and other forums were very active, I tried to start a less-than-scientific study based on casual forum input attempting to compile prevalence data on the Big 3 based on breeder, sex, whole vs. altered, age, living accommodations and diet. Right about then everyone went to facebook, so I didn't get nuthin valuable.  Times change.  My first ferret was $119.  Now, if you can find one, they're $399+ 

Scamp was a Real Canadian, and even being very experienced at that time, I couldn't prevent prevent the blockage that killed him because he was absolutely everywhere 15 hrs a day.  4 escaped despite diligent preventive measures, (2 others escaped and returned on their own) one died in an accident where I was negligent moving furniture.  

I've loved every one, but after Bobo and Lily, I'm done.  Lilly turned 4 in January, Bobo will be 4 in May.  I can't believe they've only been my friends for 3 years.

[raven]

I love ferrets so much but even after only having 4 I don't know if I have the heart to get more we'll see what the future holds.

Usagi 4(f) Marshalls - So far no problems

Akira 4(f) Marshalls - So far no problems
----
Dali 3(m) Marshalls - Adrenal 2022, Des implant 2022, Currently has a tumor causing constipation due for surgery to remove.

Poe 3(m) Marshalls - D.I.P 2022 unknown causes, went from 0 to 100 very quickly. Had gut problems when it came to any meat besides birds. He was okay with rabbit for a little while but that turned on him eventually too.

[Corvidophile]

Winnipeg, M, Marshall’s, was diagnosed with insulinoma at age 4.5. He lived with that for three more years. He got adrenal disease about age 5.5, so he lived with both concurrently for two years. In the end it was neither one that killed him outright, he just suddenly refused to eat, and that combined with his severe hind end weakness and blindness caused me to put him to sleep. His blood levels were normal. He died just shy of 7.5 years.

He ate Marshall’s kibble as a baby for maybe the first three months, then Instinct chicken variety frozen raw for a few months, then frankenprey and whole prey for a few years, then ground meat mixed with Know Better supplemental powder for the final years.

Our house is generally unlit by lightbulbs both day and night (my husband is a mole) so we largely had natural lighting hours throughout the year. Just a dim incandescent nightlight in the living room to prevent walking straight into things from sundown to 8:30ish, when we retired for the night.

[abbeytheferret6]

Back when this and other forums were very active, I tried to start a less-than-scientific study based on casual forum input attempting to compile prevalence data on the Big 3 based on breeder, sex, whole vs. altered, age, living accommodations and diet.

When I got my first babies I fed them Totally Ferret kibble---I had no clue about raw until I started searching the internet and came across this site. I am so very thankful for all that I learned here, especially the nutrition part. It was back in it's heyday, and we had mentors and took a test to make sure we knew how to be good ferrents (lol). I treasure all that I have learned here and want to give a BIG shout out to Sherry--- Thank-you. I was able to transfer some of this knowledge to my sister who was going to feed her cat canned-dog food, and I remembered that cats and ferrets basically have the same nutritional needs and taurine is a requirement(not required in dog food).

Anyway, my kibble fed babies did not make it as long as my raw-fed---2-5 yrs old---although my DIDI did make it to 6 years old. One had lung cancer. I felt I may have contributed because I used carpet cleaner sometimes ---Resolve. We do not smoke.


Lesion on pancreas, tumor on liver, and adrenal disease for sure with my Phoebe are some of the diseases that killed my others. I was not financially able to do a necropsy on all of them . My vet did a necropsy on my Annabelle (6.5 years). She did not have adrenal(she would get thinning hair on her tail once a yr). My raw fed babies did live to about 6.5 or a couple of months or so afterwards--none made it to seven. 

All my sweeties were Marshall Farms.