Reposted from the Idahoferrets Yahoo group.

As a precursor, I just want to go over what Melatonin does with adrenal issues quickly in case any readers don’t know. Melatonin is  produced naturally in a ferret’s body during winter. This suppresses breeding desires and causes the long winter coat to grow in. The reason the implants work, for a while, is because it sends a message to the system that “it’s winter.. grow hair, no more girlfriend action.” In a sense, causes their adrenal gland to hibernate. Adrenal issues can cause one to three things to happen. 1)hair loss 2)sexual behavior 3)metabolic changes.

Why this is important to know for the implant:

The melatonin implant is a preset 5.4 mg timed-release implant. As the adrenal gland cancers grow, it produces more, of what we’ll call for simplicity’s sake, “anti-melatonin.” As the glands produce more of these chemicals, the melatonin cannot counteract the glands production. If the gland, as Cathy mentioned, becomes aggressive and starts to morph into other organs, the melatonin can stop working. When you get aggressive cancer, you are no longer dealing with a growing adrenal gland (adrenal disease) but adreniosarcoma (usually, but not always.. with ferrets there are always exceptions). Sarcoma is a different beast of cancer and melatonin can’t fight it. Sarcoma will take over other organs.

Why melatonin is a band-aid and not a cure:

No matter how well a ferret is doing on melatonin, it will still die of adrenal disease. Melatonin will not cure a ferret, only surgery will remove the affected gland. The sooner adrenal issues are noticed, the better the chance for adrenal disease to be found (pop it out and you’re good to go) as opposed to adreniosarcoma… (remove what you can and give your ferret less than year usually.)  Surgery removes the problem instead of covering it up.

From experience, the longer one waits for surgery, the messier it is inside there. Once there is noticeable hair loss on the body, the cancer has probably been around for at least 6 months, often longer. Adrenal secretions can cause ferrets to not digest food well, or burn through food too quickly as well as hairloss, sexual agression, and difficulty urinating.

Side note: If your ferret loses its hair and then regrows it, they still have adrenal disease. It’s usually the natural melatonin kicking in for winter.

We recommend melatonin for the following cases: 1) Already had a surgery and symptoms are back. 2) Over 6 years old [although I have done surgery on a 7.5 year old who lived to over 9] 3) Health or weight is compromised 4) has known Cardiomyopthia (excuse spelling) 5) If it’s a shelter ferret, to determine quickly if hairloss is dietary or adrenal caused.)

Surgery is always recommended for otherwise healthy ferrets under 5! Especially in Idaho where it is afforadable!

There’s quick scoop!

Laura