From:
sunni_321@yahoo.com
Date: 2003-05-03 04:41:24 UTC
Subject: Swollen Lymph Nodes
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <1760751.1051936884585.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Yesterday my ferrets (I have three), were all anesthetized to have ID micro=
chips implanted in their shoulders. When I picked them up yesterday aftern=
oon, the receptionist asked me to wait because the vet wanted to talk to me=
. Madeline, my oldest, at 22 months old, has swollen lymph nodes. The vet=
said that since she is not sick otherwise, that we should just keep an eye=
on it. Honestly, I'm freaking out. Granted, since I knew nothing about f=
errets when I got them, I have always been hyper-conscious of anything that=
seems out of the ordinary, so I'm trying not to convince myself that she h=
as the signs even if she doesn't. I do know the following: She is overwei=
ght, weighing 3.0 lbs even. Since she is heavy, she isn't as active as the=
others. However, she has never been as playful as the other two. She was=
put on a diet, two weeks ago, at her checkup, and instead of losing weigh,=
she went from 2.9 lbs, to 3.0 lbs. She eats alright (no loss of appetite)=
, she goes to the bathroom alright, and I've never noticed her acting like =
her back legs bothered her (she constantly stands on them, so that she can =
scratch my legs, saying "Pick me up"). =
My concerns are these:
1) Is there any reason that a ferret's lymph nodes would be swollen beside=
s the lymphatic cancer? =
2) Should I insist on a biopsy? The vet said we shouldn't do one, that sh=
e didn't want to "put Maddie through that" unless it was absolutely necessa=
ry, but, on the other hand, I don't want to wait and then it be too late to=
treat her. =
3) This is a bit off topic, but... Should I get a second opinion? I kind =
of feel that my vet has a strike against her at the moment, as my male ferr=
et Howard, turns out to be female. This, too, was discovered at the pre-op=
exam. Howie is 17 months old, has been to the vet 6 times (I admit it, I =
worry about every little thing!) anyway.. in 6 visits, they never realized =
that he was a female? =
Thank you!
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