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FERRETONIN™
Can Ferretonin be used as a preventive to fight off the adrenal disease?  YES, read what a leading ferret veterinarian worte after using 100's of Ferretonin implants.  We suggest every 6 months (Spring/Fall) after the age of 3 years old. 
Melatonin and Adrenal Disease by Dr. Deborah Kemmerer-Cottrell DVM (Click on to read)

A little input for your private list discussion. At Ferret Wise with our extended hospice network we have been administering melatonin implants for over 2 years WITHOUT any major problems. What people need to realize that if you give an implant or any treatment to a health compromised ferret you may be compounding a pre existing condition, but using 100% natural melatonin this is not a side effect.

Here at the shelter we keep records of health issues and if in doubt get a pre op blood panel done so we can check on liver & kidney function as well as anemia , BG etc . Many hidden health problems can lie in an older ferret as most folks can witness to.

Ferrets can well tolerate melatonin as it is a natural and necessary hormone in the body. They tolerate it better than chemo which is what lupron is.  What many folks don't realize is that if you have a ferret with renal failure, that will not get better with a melatonin implant. Likewise Insulinoma will not get better with a melatonin implant.

Where the melatonin implants HAVE been useful in slowing the progress of hyper adrenal syndrome and in IBD!  I hope this is helpful - a cursory health exam should be done before administering melatonin whether oral or implant. As I have said we have ferrets ages 5 years to 9.5 years currently on melatonin, some are heart patients, in the past a IBD patient and bi lateral adrenal ferret gained over 1.5 years of symptom free life and many others here are fully coated and happy as a result of these implants. They are also very, very useful ion cycling out ferrets ( with the help of lupron) form heat or rut cycles, enabling spay or neuters without hormonal crashes.

My two cents,

Alicia at Ferret Wise

 
PICTURES * Melatonin Results * PICTURES
Click on Snowball to enlarge!
Snowball after Melatonin
RESEARCH & SOURCES

In my study with Dr Johnson at Texas A&M, we monitored the first 70 ferrets. Only one of the 70 did not respond well. That solo ferret had a large right adrenal gland (carcinoma) and lymphoma.Thus 98.6% responded well.
Now after ~180 implants, I have only had 2 more that did not respond well to the implant. One is a male that also has lymphoma, and the other just had adrenal gland disease.                        Thus ~98% have responded well to the implants. In general adrenal glands can be hyperplasia ('pre-cancer'), adenomas ('benign cancer') or carcinomas ('malignant cancer').
Carcinomas can become very large (fist size) tumors and do not respond as well to medical treatment. Likewise carcinomas of the right gland can spread to the liver lobe that is below it.  Dr. Jerry Murray DVM  

 

  Internet Issues :
Date 3/2009
To all the internet readers be careful what you read, subject hypoglycemia :
Melatek has not had any (zero) reports that the ferretonin implant leads to any hypoglycemia, nor has there been any facts of this in a study recently done by Colorado State University.  We actually have found that it is quite the opposite that it assist the ferret from developing hypoglycemia issues.
Here is what two of the nations leading ferret veterinarians have stated.
Dear Tim Cairns:
Thought you might be interested in this.
Dr Debbie Cottrell down in Florida has been
getting questions about melatonin and hypoglycemia recently.

Her response is interesting. 1500 implants and no problem!
Likewise I have had a few e mail questions recently and
still no hypoglycemia problems for me.  Dr. Jerry Murray

Hi, Jerry. 
I hope all is well with you. Got a question for you. All of a sudden, I'm getting ferret clients telling me they're reading stuff online about melatonin implants causing hypoglycemia in ferrets. I've used nearly 1500 implants and I do not believe that to be true. I check glucose on all these guys twice a year prior to giving the implant, and I just don't see any evidence. What are your thoughts on this?


Thanks,

Dr. Debbie Cottrell

STUDY BY COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY

To answer the question, no I have not seen any ferrets that became resistant to treatment in our population of 9 ferrets, and no there were no changes in the blood glucose in any of the 9 ferrets.  It did suppress cortisol significantly in 8/9, and cortisol is one of the innate protectants against hypoglycemia, so I think there is still a theoretical concern with use in concurrent insulinoma.  What I have been advising vets to do is to co-treat with prednisolone in order to cover for this potential until we find out more.
 
Let me know if you need more information.
Dr. Matt Johnston

ANOTHER  INTERNET ISSUE:  Date 8/2008
 An issue is that with melatonin implants, some say the symptoms of
> adrenal are masked if they get it anyway. I am confused on this point...at
> some point wouldn't you see hair loss if the implants were not helping?
 Answer:
My guess is that if the adrenal cortex becomes hyperplastic or neoplastic from
causes other than overstimulation by LH, then the melatonin would likely still
prevent those new cells from producing sex hormones, which cause the hair loss
and other symptoms. That's why the implants work in ferrets that are known to be
adrenal -- they don't cure the disease, but do mask the symptoms, leading to
extended lifespan and quality of life. I think it's a fair trade-off if the ferret is much
less likely to become adrenal in the first place. Thousands of ferrets who never
became adrenal would more than make up for one or two "secretly adrenal" problem
cases, IMHO.

 

ANOTHER  INTERNET ISSUE: Date 12/2007

Hi Eleanor:
Here is the response that I received from Dr. Jerry.
Hope that clears things up!!  By the way, I would still love to know the information
That was given from their vet ... -------------------------------
 
Subject:   Re: Melatonin Implants -- Insulinoma
HI FLO:
NO, melatonin does not cause insulinomas!
Hope that clears things up,

 

 
Dr. Jerry Murray 


 Eleanor wrote:
My sister's friend spoke with her vet about Melatonin implants and it
was said that a study shows that they cause Insulinoma.  Has
anyone heard anything like this or know where I could find out any new
info about the implants.  I am very concerned as I have 4 older
ferrets that have had them.   
NOTE there is not a study; this was just an internet item.

 
Melatonin Internet Links!
1)      Melatonin treatment of hyperadrenalocorticism in ferrets.  By Michael Janke.

2)      Ferret Universe and the Adrenal Disease; Treatment melatonin.

3)      Basic Adrenal Disease Information.

4)      Melatonin: Another Treatment Adrenal Gland Disease by Jerry Murray, DVM

5)      Clinical skills to diagnose ferret adrenal disease DVM Magazine

      Melatonin is a natural hormone that is secreted by the pineal gland. Melatonin is involved in activating (in the spring) and terminating (in the fall) the natural breeding season. Higher levels of melatonin are released in the fall during the dark hours. This is what stops the breeding season, causes the ferret to put on its winter coat, and its extra weight for the winter. Recent work at the University of Wisconsin and Texas A&M has shown that melatonin also helps control adrenal gland disease. There is an injectable melatonin implant that is FDA approved. It is a slow release product that last for roughly 4 months. Texas A&M and I are currently doing a pilot study using the melatonin implant.   So far most of the ferrets regrow their fur and gain weight in 1-2 months after the implant is given. In addition the implant is a low cost option to treat adrenal gland disease. Plus it can be used with Lupron. It can also be used with Propecia for males with prostate problems, and with Arimidex for females with estrogen-induced anemia.   Article by Dr. Jerry Murray DVM.

Other research notes:

       "Melatonin supplements for ferrets have been reported to aid in maintaining healthy coats and also with fur regrowth in ferrets with balding caused from adrenal disease.  It has also been reported to help with prostate problems in males and swollen vulva symptoms in females.  I have been using melatonin and have seen positive results in my ferret."        

"In my male ferret, he had been on Lupron for roughly 2.5 years post left adrenal gland removal, but the hair on the distal third of his tail never filled in as much as a normal tail.  After his melatonin in March his tail started to fill in.  Now after his second melatonin implant his tail has completely filled in."

       "Yes, several success stories with Melatonin.  We started out after an adrenal surgery did not bring about the long term improvement we had hoped for, and the Lupron did only for about a month, Four weeks on the Melatonin we saw significant decrease in the ferret's vulva and the beginnings of hair re-growth. "       "A second one, a male with aggressive bilateral adrenal cancer, was put on Melatonin nearly a year ago.  The adrenals were such a 'mess' that the right was never removed.  It took about 4-6 weeks, but his fur looks fine and he has no indications of prostate problems, which is always our biggest concern with male adrenal tumors."

 

 
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2)     2007 International Ferret Symposium®
3)     Kritter Koncepts Catalog Shopping
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Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information published.  However, it remains the responsibility of the readers to familiarize themselves with the product information contained on the product label or package insert.

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