From:
williamsdvm@comcast.net
Date: 2003-02-24 03:00:23 UTC
Subject: RE: Weird Chin on baby ferret
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <6606872.1046055623843.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Author wrote:
> Hi there, I'm new. I joined because my newest baby (8 weeks old) has a different chin than her 3 "siblings". The others are all normal and sleek chins, but the baby has sort of a swollen-looking one. From her profile it looks rounded and much different than the others. It doesn't hurt or bother her when I touch it, and I checked inside her mouth to make sure that there was no food lodged in her palate or under her tongue. She is eating heartily, drinking well and going to the bathroom with big, healthy looking poops.
Dear Lacey:
At this point, the biggest problem that I would worry about (and I'm really not worrying about it very much) would be that perhaps this particular ferret has a growth deformity. These are rare in ferret kits but some are born with overly short jaws (brachygnathism) or overly long ones (prognathism). Take a moment and compare her bite (how the teeth meet) with one of your other ferrets. Do the lower incisors come just behind the upper ones when she shuts her mouth? Do the upper canines ride just behind the lower ones (and just to the outside).
My bet is that everything is fine, and you were likely just looking at it oddly - but it never hurts to take a closer look.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM