boil on my ferrets tummy

Question
QUESTION: I have a female ferret about 5 years old and she has what looks like a boil on her tummy about half way up from her privates on an old incision , it's about the size of a split pea, I do keep a look out for things as best as I can, but this has me a bit concerned, it's pinkish in color and looks kind of a new problem and yes, they are the loves of my life as I have 2 females, Pepper is the one with the problem and has several gray colors on her and Inky is about the same age but is cream yellow with gray tips on her back, Pepper weighs about 1.7 lbs and Inky is 2.3 lbs, I can take a pic and send it to you if needed?

both eat ferret food from Marshals, harvests and one other, I give them the harvest ferret treats of chicken and banana/raisin and the ferret high protein paste about a 1/4 teaspoon each per day, I do give them fruit like bananas in small bits.

if you need more info, please ask.

tnks Roger

ANSWER: Hi Roger

Yes, please send me a picture of the growth....that would help a lot.  Most likely it is either an infection or a tumor...either will require vet visit to treat/remove. Most likely if it apoears ed and inflamed, it could be infection, but if it is just raised or discolored skin, it may likely be a tumor of some type.  But I would be curious just to see it.  Is she eating, drinking, playing as usual or slowed down, not playing, eating etc?  Does she lick it or appear bothered by it?  Those things would make me lean towards thinking it could be infection that needs lanced or removed and antibiotics given. If it is a tumor, it would be best removed and sent to pathology to be sure there aren't more tumors inside her.  A vet visit would answer your questions best.

I hope you have a good exotics vet,  but most likely about any vet can diagnose and help with this problem unless she needs surgery to remove it, in which case I recommend an exotics vet (not all vets are experienced with exotics and they can easily die on the table unless correct anesthesia is used, ferret is kept warm during surgery, and enough fluids given and warmth after any procedure).  Ferrets are very different than cats, dogs and other animals - they are far more delicate and in regular vet school out of six years of training, vet students get only about FOUR HOURS of *all* exotics, including turtles, birds, snakes, bobcats, etc. Lumped into a four hour class.  So, you can see how a regular dog and cat vet is just usually unprepared to deal with ferrets properly and that difference often means the difference between life and death for a ferret.  Let me know where you live (city and state) if you need a vet referral, okay?  I will be glad to do that for you, or you can check the vet listings by state and city at http:www.ferretcentral.org and look under contacys and referrals under your city and state.

I would like to invite you to post the picture on my ferret group on Facebook...THUNDERING FERRET PAWS.  You must request membership to post, but that can happen in just a few hours, so don't let it stop you, k?  That way others can also learn from your experience. There is a great group of folks with much ferret experience on there, breeders, rescue operators, etc. I do not think this forum allows pictures, so please post it there or write to my private email addy at thunder.paw.ranch at gmail dot com.

Sincerely,
Jacquie Rodgers
GOD BLESS THOSE PRECIOUS LITTLE ONES WHO CANNOT SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for responding, but I don't use FB at all, had too many issues with security and spamming, as to your question does she play and eat, yes she does, both do and they sleep a lot as well, I put a spray on it called ban-it and it looks much better, Pepper has had some stomach problems in the past like bathroom needs, she runs between boxes ( 4 of them ) to find one that fits her duty call. she has licked it witch is why I went looking at her tummy, the boil is now just a small bump and looks OK to a point, but if it returns, then I'll need a vet who knows ferrets.

As to a vet near here, I have one for their shots is all and he's not very good either, I find my needs being met better from owners who have dealt with problems much sounder, as you stated, not very many vets care or have the needed training with small pets like my ferrets, Pepper is a true rescue and was just thrown out like trash and has other issues because of it, but she has been loved and yes I do cry when they hurt, so finding a vet I can trust has been hard, my zip is 84647 or for the winter, it is 89040, they do travel well and look forward to a point for it, both get very upset when I go shopping or out side for any time, I think the 3 of us are needing the other very much in life.

Do you have another way to get pics for this and please know that yes they take a lot of understanding to have, but I've found places to get their food from that's not too costly, UPCO is a place to get pet food from as well as other things  if you want to re-post this on your info page, they do have some issues with getting large supplies at times, but worth the time.

Should you want to chat, my no is  

Answer
Hi again Roger,

I forgot to mention specifically in my previous email that it has fairly recently been discovered that raisins are really bad for ferrets kidneys....so much so that as few as three or four have been known to KILL a ferret by shutting down their kidneys, so it would be a really good idea to completely remove them from your ferrets diet. This is new news, but ferret owners are trying to spread the word ad quickly as possible to other ferret owners before any more ferrets die needlessly.

Sorry you had a bad experience with Facebook. I have used it for years, as have thousands/millions othes and this is the first I have heard of this type problem.  If you change your mind someday, please feel free to join our group.  It is probably the best way to keep up on current and new discoveries in the ferret world, as it updates daily so you have current information (such as the raisins).  Just a few days ago someone posted a picture of what looked like an open sore (a little round red hole on the ferrets tummy, possibly a boil, an injury or a bug bite of some type) on one of the ferret groups. They were going to  seek vet help and I have not yet seen the results of the vet visit.

Sincerely,
Jacquie Rodgers


Hi Again, Roger:

All Experts removed your number, just as they probably removed my private email addy I put in the other reply. That is so frustrating.  I wish they would allow us to exchange info so we can communicate better!  If the bump is red or looks sore, she really needs to see a vet, as it may be an infection coming from inside.  If not, it could be a tumor, again could be more inside her.

I looked for exotics vets in your area/s, but found none.  Perhaps you can find one in a nearby city since you are more familiar with the area.....try this link:  
http://www.inyourarea.net/vets/ut/   .  I used to have to drive three hours to a good exptics vet, but it was worthwhile.  For this problem, initially I think I would see a normal vet and only seek a specialist if she needs surgery. She should be okay with any good vet who will see ferrets just to see if it is infection or needs removed.

Regarding immunizations (rabies/distemper), does your vet administer benadryl 15-minutes before each shot and NEVER get more than one shot at a time? I almost lost one of my ferrets simply by getting a distemper shot. She went into anaphylactic shock, heart stopped, etc and we were lucky to get her back after three shots directly into the heart, but if she had not had benadryl shot first, she would have had no chance.  The vet was not a ferret vet, but fortunately I knew what to do and the vet listened to me, knowing I was an experienced ferret owner. It was the scariest thing I ever went thru with a ferret. These things are good to know to prevent problems. Reactions from shots given after benadryl pre-treatment are very very rare. So, just in cas you did not already know that and may be using a non-exotics vet, thought I would pop that info in here.  In fact, I give my kids the initial three baby shots of distemper, then no more, as we live in the city and they do not get out in the woods or where other animals would be (distemper and rabies are very contagious just by walking across the same path as an infected animal).  Rabies is important to have if they go outside your yard, or other animals can get in, and also if they go in public, as if they would ever bite or scratch anyone, the ferret would be automatically put down to check for rabies.  I know you did not ask, but since you do not have an exotics vet, thought I would drop that in.

Also, don't know what food ypu feed, but here is a food chart for ferrets:

moredooks.herebo.com

Ferrets are obligate carnivores, which means their stomachs are designed to digest meat and meat products only, nothing with fruit,  vegetables, sugar, etc.  Raw eggs are good, raw or cooked chicken (no bones in cooked chicken because they splinter).  Ferretone is good, but no more than a teaspoon a week or you can overdose them in vitamins. I put 1/2 Ferretone and 1/2 olive oil, then refrigerate half of it (never use if it gets floating particles or yellowish sediment in it).  For treats I give only N-Bone or All Living Things chicken or duck Ferret Chews, which are basically gelatinized chicken/duck broth and safe. Other chew bones can cause intestinal blockages.

For hairball treatment (necessary!), I make a thin, warm "soup"(you can grind regular food and add water and warm it, or use Hills A/D Feline thinned a bit with water, then add contents of ONE CAPSULE "Vetasyl".  Feed as much as they will eat 2-3 times daily for 5 days to clean intestinal system of accumulated fur at least once monthly.

Use soft cotton baby blankets or tee shirts in the cage for sleeping, never wood chips, which the oils from them can blind a ferret.

This and much much more ferret information is available at http://www.feretcentral.org  .  Hope you will check it out, especially since you do not have a ferret vet. They are all things every ferret owner needs to know and you may already know, but since you don't belong to a ferret group, you may be missing lots of information. I hope you will find a group somewhere and join. It is really important, especially if you do not have a good ferret vet to guide you.

I will try one more time to send my private contact which is thunder dot paw dot ranch at gmail dot com.  Hope you get that....pls don't hesitate to email me anytime.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers