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Ferrets/Skin Condition

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Expert: Emilee Andrews - 1/13/2009


Question

Chewie
I own 5 ferrets, ranging from 3 to 5. I feed them a healthy diet of mixed foods, Zupreem, Ultimate, Ferret Evo, Feline Legacy Horizon, feline Go, feline Orjen and feline TD. I am not a huge giver of treats other than ferretone. I use World's Best Cat Litter for my cat's boxs as well as the ferret's boxes. They live in a huge cage at night and then has a ferret friendly room to play in during work hours. When we are home they free roam in our house.


My oldest ferret Chewbacca(5) in the last few months has had a decreasing skin conditions and hair loss. We had removed a small skin mass in August that was diagnosed as "Benign Cutaneous mast cell tumor", Dr Armstrong said it was removed completely and to simply keep and eye for more in the future. We moved to NB in September and have found a vet in Fredericton. I noticed another lump in November (beginning) so we made an appointment to see the vet, at this time there were no other health concerns. We then made an appointment to have a skin graff done. At the end of Nov he started to have some hair loss on his chest area and tail. With the hair loss I found another red blister lump, I called to inform them we may have to remove 2. The first week of December we went in  for the skin graff. Which the vet was not willing to do. He had very dry skin, small circular areas of dark red/brown dots on his back which was thick with fur. We decided to do an ultra sound to see if we were seeing signs of adrenal. And some blood work. The vet said the test were all showing signs of a VERY healthy ferret. (which of course was great news) While we we chatted of possibilities I remembered he had been doing small pee spots a lot lately in very random spots. She did a urine test and that showed a bit of blood in the urine. She asked us to do another urine sample in a few days at home. As for the skin she said he must just be itchy and try giving him Children's benydril daily. So we dropped off a new urine sample, and she found more blood so we did 10 day of antibiotics and to continue the children's benydril. I will admit I have stopped the benydril (I am not a drug type person and just could not do it daily, for about 4 weeks and saw no change) So that is the history...
Today his hair loss is going up over on to his shoulder area, much more patchy. The red marks are now on his back and his stomach/chest area is completely bald. His tail is full of blackheads and 3/4 bald as well. His butt/back is still fairly thick in hair. I have tried to take a photo for you to see...not sure if it will help. He is still eating very well and drinking lots of water. When he gets up he playful as normal. His poo that I have seen is very healthy.
I have been trying to research on the computer but keep coming up with bad diet, adrenal or fleas...which it is neither of those.

Can you give some other ideas onmy next step of action.

Thank you
Aletha  

Answer
Hello Aletha,

I am so sorry that Chewie is having problems! According to the research I've done, it sounds like your little guy has mast cell tumors on his skin. According to what I've read, it is rather rare for a ferret to have so many tumors like Chewie has had, but mast cell tumors need to be biopsied (ALWAYS BIOPSIED) and then removed, as soon as you see them, as, while it is rare for a mast cell tumor on a ferret to get to the point of metastasis (where the tumor becomes cancerous and spreads to other organs), it does happen and after that happens, I'm afraid the prognosis isn't too great.

Here are some articles for you:

http://www.ferretcentral.org/faq/med/mast.html
(With this article, you should scroll down quite a bit but the article heading is mast cell tumors).
http://www.afip.org/consultation/vetpath/ferrets/Mast/mastcell.html
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=11+2061&aid=2588

Again, your little guy should go into the vet again and see if you can get the tumors biopsied and removed. I hope this helps you and if you have further questions, concerns, or if you need clarifications, please don't hesitate to ask!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews

P.S.
The antihistamine is a good idea, I think, because histamine is in those tumors, but I'm not sure what could be causing the blood in the urine, but you should definitely have that problem checked out when you take him in for biopsies. Good Luck!

Emilee Andrews

Expertise

I can answer questions for people that are considering a ferret or are the new owners of a ferret. I can answer questions about basic ferret care such as: their eating habits, their drinking habits, what are appropriate snacks and different types of foods to feed the ferret, the basics of ferret sickness and caring for the ill ferret, cage setup and requirements, grooming (such as nail trimming, bathing, ear cleaning, etc.) litter box training, ideas for toys and games, behavior problems (such as nipping and other things) and ferret proofing. I can also help out with the adoption process and finding your lost ferret and I can tell you the basic things to do and what to look out for when caring for a ferret. If I can't answer a question, I'll do my best to point you in the direction of someone who can. I can also help you find a vet for your ferret if you don't have one yet. I absolutely CANNOT give a definitive diagnosis of a ferret's malady. If there is an emergency situation with your ferret please have it examined by a proper ferret veterinarian.

Experience

I am owned by two ferrets and I have cared for five over the past few years, which is the best experience anyone could ask for. I have read many, many books on ferret care. Also, I volunteer at a ferret shelter a few days a week.

Organizations
I volunteer at the Midwest Ferret Connection here in Michigan.

Education/Credentials
I am currently pursuing a DVM, but I have attended expos on ferrets and I have read numerous books on the subject.

Awards and Honors
My contributions to Yahoo! Answers on ferrets have been voted "best answer."

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