Help! Need Advice on Possible Ferret Adoption

[abcdevonn]

Looking on Craigslist as usual for ferrets, and I came across this ad: delaware.craigslist.org/for/3229821376.html

After emailing the owner, they are still available. She is in her fourth year of vet school and truly seems to be looking for a good home. She has offered to let us take them to the vet before deciding to keep them and asked that if we ever need to rehome to please give them back to her. All of this sounds extremely good to me, but their age concerns me. (They are 3) She said they have never had any health issues, but my worry is that they could be developing adrenal or insuloma very soon. She has had them on Marshall's food because they don't like anything else, so I am guessing they are Marshall's ferrets as well.

Do you think this is a good idea, or would you guys be concerned about their age and possibility to develop illnesses sooner rather than later?

[Deleted]

Personally I would not be concerned, however I have adopted (my worst case) one of my ferrets that was being fed guinea pig food and fully expected health issues. You scenario seems ideal to me, they can always be switched off the Marshall's. There is always a possibility of health issues with ferrets, even raw fed, it is something you have to be willing to be prepared for regardless.

[Sherry]

I'm with suzie. Yes, they are at an age to develop both insulinoma and/or adrenal disease. This is the risk you take with any ferret. The oldest we adopted was 4yrs. She developed adrenal within a year. We've just adopted 4 new ones. Of those, one of the 2yr olds is adrenal. Most likely all will develop it at some point.
Raw feeding will prevent any more damage being done to the pancreas, but it won't repair what was already there. One of Heather's fuzz had been raw fed from 9 months of age. He still developed insulinoma.

[abcdevonn]

Yes, I do expect health issues, I am more concerned about the timing of the issues than anything, which of course is impossible to predict. My worry is, because of their age, they will get ill soon, and being still in college I would have a harder time paying off the vet bills now than I would in a year. If I do get them I will definitely be getting them checked by a vet. Is the onset of adrenal and/or insulinoma something vets can detect, or is it something that shows itself after things have gotten bad?

[katt]

I agree. And another thing to consider - just because they are 3 doesn't mean that they are any less deserving of a good home. They sound like they have had good care and are well loved. They are just on a crappy diet and need someone to help them get onto something better! And as said above, with ANY ferret you risk health problems. Even unaltered breeder ferrets on raw diets are at risk for problems! Unfortunately, it's just a part of having ferrets.

[Sherry]

By the time either shows up, they need medical treatment. Insulinoma is treated with pred, and adrenal with either lupron or deslorelin.
However- if you KNOW medical treatment is going to stretch you too far financially, maybe best to pass right now.

[katt]

Aug 26, 2012 13:40:43 GMT -5 Sherry said:

However- if you KNOW medical treatment is going to stretch you too far financially, maybe best to pass right now.

...on ANY ferret. I can tell you from experience that getting a baby even doesn't guarantee no vet bills. I spent close to $2000 on Koda before he was even a year old.

[Deleted]

Assume they will develop issues. How much does adrenal cost to treat, if you are extra careful and nip it in the bud? The price of a lupron implant? How much is that over there? How much does pred for insulinoma cost there? Do you have this money right now, in your account, and will you have it available for the next year? Will your vet let you pay in installments if anything went massively wrong and a cost you couldn't have predicted came along? How much roughly do people spend a month on these things?

If this lady was advertising two ferrets that were 3 years old, one with adrenal and one with insulinoma, would you be able to adopt them?

If your answer is no, then I would pass. Maybe you could offer the woman your services as a foster- if she can't find them a new home that she approves of, then you could foster them for her. She will pay for food and any medical treatment, and you will care for them. She can come and visit them if she wants to, and if she is ever in a position to have them in her home again, then she can take them back. Then she won't feel like she has to rehome them to someone who is less than suitable if no one else comes along before she moves, and if you do get to take them, you won't be responsible for vets bills etc.

[Deleted]

I'm not sure if it's exactly the same over there, but over here we can use the implant to help prevent adrenal happening. It's still very controversial as to whether or not it does make a difference, as it's hard to measure it against other ferrets (most ferrets here are not nuetered until at least 6 months old if ever- we have the opposite problem to the US, where no one nueters their ferrets and we have too many ferrets being dumped, given away etc, because of irresponsible breeding. Cases of adrenal are much, much lower too). If the implant is cheap and readily available, why not implant before a problem develops? It might help.

[Heather]

These ferrets are too old to use the DES as a preventative. This method is not proven yet but it's hopeful that it will work. It does have to be done before their first season, so in an already altered ferret before their first year. Sherry's right, I've got a wee boy who has been fed raw for most of his life and developed insulinoma. I was heartbroken but.....I've had ferrets who have reached 8 yrs without showing symptoms of adrenal. I had a 9 yr old marshals sprite who never did develop the disease. She eventually passed on at around 10.5 or 11 yrs. She passed on from total organ failure caused by old age. Just because of their age, it doesn't mean they will get sick, but you have to assume. So if you feel you cannot afford the wee ones, don't go there, but don't not take them because of their age. They can give you many years of love and it does sound that other than diet they've had really good care
ciao