Although the hair loss generally begins on the tail and base of the tail, the tops of the rear feet and over the shoulder blades, it can occur anywhere on the ferret's body. The vulva, located just below the anus, can become quite large. Secondary urinary tract infections can occur as a result of the enlarged vulva due to the pooling of urine. Return to male sexual behavior can occur in neutered male ferrets as a result of elevated testosterone levels. This behavior can include trying to mount a female spayed or another male ferret, or aggression toward other ferrets or rarely toward people.
Diagnosis is made at surgery finding one or both enlarged adrenal glands.
Right adrenal tumors, as a result, are difficult to completely remove and can be associated with postoperative bleeding. Cryosurgery is the freezing of tissue with liquid nitrogen, intending to kill the cells, which are frozen. Cryosurgery has been used, in human medicine, for decades for the removal of skin tumors, and has been used more recently to destroy many other tumors including tumors of the liver, breast, prostate and adrenal. Cryosurgery has been shown to be very safe, even when used on tumors adjacent to large vessels. I have used cryosurgery to treat over 35 cases, with excellent results.