From:
dr_bruce_williams
Date: 2002-03-07 14:15:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Vets please
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "FerretMommy" <ferret.mommy@u...>
wrote:
> evening,
> I have a male ferret (champange) who is about 1 year old.
> he is not himself.. he does have some loss of hair on his underside
belly
> but the hair on the skin side looks as though it's turning orange..
just
> below his ribcage he has a firm lump/bump inside that is at and
angle from
> left top to bottom right about 1 1/2 " long..(guessamint).. it does
not take
> up his whole abdomed area.. he is some what showing signs of
slowing down
> his breating is short and quick.. he has a hack cough off and on..
his nose
> is pink and his gums are as well.. he is eating wet (ferret)
kibble and
> drinking water and is pooping..
Your desciption does sound like a spleen - with the signs that you
are describing, the possibility of juvenile lymphoma does have to be
considered. I believe that I would request an aspirate of that large
structure - in most cases of juvenile lymphoma, the spleen is just
chock full of neoplastic cells, and to a trained eye, the diagnosis
is relatively straight forward.
I don't want to scare you, but I think this is a case in which
lymphoma should be immediately suspected, and ruled out as quickly as
possible.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM