From:
katharine
Date: 2001-08-11 20:07:00 UTC
Subject: Funny Spot
I was removing Cedes' stitches this a.m.
(bilateral adrenalectomy) and noticed a place on
his back. Despite my attempt to spare him a vet
visit, we had to go anyway. Doc wasn't too
concerned but wasn't sure exactly what it is. He
just told me to watch it and bring him back if it
changed or others erupted. He said to especially
watch for the skin to get rough. He said he would
do bloodwork at that point, not a scraping. He
said it could be a drug reaction or possibly an
insect bite. I am nearly 100% certain it wasn't
there yesterday morning as I had him in my lap
giving him NutriStat. I'm positive I would have
seen it. His back is pretty bald from the adrenal
so it's not hidden at all.
It looks like ringworm but it is not raised or
rough. If you feel it, there is nothing there.
It is a little smaller than a dime. The outer
edge is a brighter red, the center is lighter
red. There is a tiny speck in the middle that
could be a bite. Doc said it reminds him of the
"target" appearance of lyme disease. I remembered
then that I had a similar place on my arm several
years ago (much larger) and was tested for lyme
disease. It was never determined what it was and
it went away after about 8 months. I have seen a
few small spiders in the house (from all of the
rain we've had probably) so that's a possibility.
Anyway, does anyone have any ideas? All he has
been on is amoxicillin (finished it on Tuesday)
and is currently on PediaPred. I don't think it
could be an allergic reaction to the anesthesia
since that's been nearly a week (post-surgery
bloodwork). His pred is being cut back all the
time. It seems if he was reacting to that he
would have reacted at the more frequent dosages.
Other than that, he's still doing great! For
those of you hesitant to have surgery done on
older ferrets, I believe Cedes is close to (if not
already) 7 years old. He has been a trooper
through the whole thing.
Katharine