Teeth, Ferret

Question
Mr.T is about 6 to 7 months old. Cute as a button, and chunky. No illnesses or preexisting maladies, that i know of. He eats hard food, forget the name. Pooped this morning, looks normal. Lives in a big house, with lots of animals, and stays in cage at night, with his sister.

Now, here is my question nad the situation. Mr. T is swollen, under his chin, looks like hes got a thrid chin. He could barly yan last night, and seems to be doing better this morning. He does have a chiped back tooth, not sure how or when it happend. He doesnt play much right now, and hasnt eat much either. This morning he seems to be doing better, but i still would no what was wrong, or is wrong with him. Any advise that would be great.
Thank you,
Whitney

Answer
Hi Whitney,

This could be a major problem. This could be indicative of lymphosarcoma, which is a form of cancer that, when it goes undetected, can cause the glands in the neck to swell (among other things). Now, I'm not a vet, so I'm just going off what I've researched as I've never had to deal with this specific problem, personally.

My advice to you is that Mr. T should see a vet to have this swelling looked at. I don't think a chipped tooth would cause swelling near the chin. He should be seen by a vet and he should undergo some tests.


Like I said, it could be anything, but it could also be something very serious. Certain types of lymphoma affect younger ferrets more than older ferrets and vice versa. I would seriously suggest that you get Mr. T into the vet as soon as you can to have him checked out.

If you don't have a ferret vet here are some links:

VETS CANADA:   
* http://www.ferretrescue.ca/start.php
* http://tinylink.com/?TlVyYKa6e0
* http://www.ferrets.org/Veterinarian_Listings.htm   (British Columbia)
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html
* http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/sask_ferrets/

VETS USA:
* http://www.quincyweb.net/quincy/vet.html
* http://ferrethealth.org/vets/
* http://www.ferret-universe.com/vets/vetlist.asp
* http://www.ferretsanctuary.com/vets.shtml
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html
* http://ferrethealth.org/vets/

VETS  UK & IRELAND:  
* http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ferreter/vetlist.htm

VET INFO/ LIST OF FERRET GROUPS/ CONTACTS IN UK, ITALY, NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA, NETHERLANDS, GERMANY & DENMARK:       
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-overseas.html (scroll down page to find the one you are looking for).

I am sorry I can't offer more help, but this a problem a vet should handle. Please keep me updated on Mr. T's progress and if you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask.

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews