From:
kath0524
Date: 2002-03-29 17:46:00 UTC
Subject: Re: lymes disease
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., equineamy@a... wrote:
> I am not sure about ferrets and lymes disease, but your bump
sounds very familiar. One of my girls would always get this scabby
thing on her in the same spot. I asked the vet about it. She
actually has quite a few of them in different spots that come and
go. For the life of me I can't remember the name of it, but it is
nothing to worry about. I know that if a dog or cat had them, it is
serious, but these are usually nothing to worry about in ferrets.
my girl has had them for over two years and they just exist, they
don't bother her at all. >
Your vet and my vet have very differing opinions about mast cell
tumors, if this is what you are talking about. My vet recommends
removing ANY tumor so it can be analyzed via pathology. I believe
Dr. Williams also recommends removing mast cell tumors. Even though
they may just look like sores on the surface, you don't know what
they're doing internally. I just posted about a mast cell tumor
removed from Dillon (see message #12108).
First of all, you want to remove any recurring "sore" or any "sore"
which doesn't go away, just as you would do with a human. In
humans, this is one of the warning signs of cancer. It needs to be
analyzed. It could be any number of things, including cancer.
Secondly, you can't be certain exactly what it is until it is
removed and sent to pathology.
When I took Dillon in, one of the vets wandered into the waiting
room and I showed it to her. She thought it was probably just a boo-
boo. I then showed it to Dillon's doctor and he thought the same
thing. He said he would shave around it (Dillon's fur is very
thick) and look closer. Once he did, he realized it was a tumor.
It wasn't until the pathology report came back that he was sure what
it was.
A lot of people agree with you and your vet and don't worry with
them. I'm a little too anal with my ferrets to do that. I get
visions of all of these tentacles growing off of it under the skin,
spreading all over their little bodies <g>.
Katharine