Long weekends are often a cause for celebration, with frivolous activities or even no activity at all, if that is what one so chooses to do, or not do. Well, on Saturday morning, I took Zeke (our ferret) to the vet. I wish I could say this was for a random check-up but it wasn't. Within the last two weeks he had lost all the hair on his stomach and was losing patches on his back. Having owned seven ferrets over the years, it is easy to recognize the signs associated with adrenal gland disease when one has lost three to it in the last 3yrs. Hair loss on the end of the tail is often the first indicator of the early stages of adrenal gland disease, with changes in personality being another often triggered by the growth causing hormone imbalances.
Our wonderful vet, Dr Shini, was disturbed to find the extent of Zeke's hair loss and we both knew this disease had progressed much more quickly than for any of our other ferrets. His skin was red in patches due the the itchiness also associated with the hair loss. Due to the homrone imbalance, Zeke had begun to act aggressively towards our other ferret babies; Zoe, Zahn & Zed.
Dr Shini tried to give me some hope for his future, but I knew it was futile. Our last cancer victim (Ziggy) actually did really well on monthly luprone injections for 3 yrs, but I didn't hold the same hopeful outcome for my Zeka-Bleaker (the nickname I gave him). I did not want to let my little guy go, but I also did not want to let him suffer, so I took the humane way out and said my farewells to my dear little guy. We will miss you Zeke, my little escape artist.
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