my ferret misty has a cut on her leg

Question
QUESTION: hello, my ferret is 8 years old , She has no preexisting maladies. She eats  COMPLETE NUTRITION FERRET DIET from petland discount.Her last poop was hard and brown which is normal.My ferret lives in a cage with stairs that is 5 1/2 feet tall ,our house is clean.Now my ferret tried to slip out her cage and she cut herself on her leg .this cut has not healed yet .it looks like a big pink scab.PLEASE HELP..is there anything i can buy from PETLAND DISCOUNT to make this go away.

ANSWER: Hi Shantaiel and Misty,

What brand is the food you feed her? I am not sure if I've heard of it based on your description. Anyway, just a quick little tidbit - the food you feed to your ferret should have 36% protein, 20% fat and no more than 3% fiber. Also, there shouldn't be corn or grain products in any of the first three ingredients (really the first five or six ingredients). Ferrets could get an intestinal blockage from being exposed to those products for a long period of time. Ferrets are obligate carnivores, which means they can only eat meat. That really means that they can only digest meat. That's it. So, just something to think about. Here is a chart that I like to give to ferret parents to compare foods. I wouldn't suggest going below a nine.

http://www.mdferretpaws.org/care/food_treats.html

Anyway, to your original question, did the cut bleed a lot? How big is the cut? How long has it been there? What did you do when the cut happened?

Depending on the answers to these questions, you should probably take Misty to the vet. If you could write in with the answers to these questions, I could try to help you further but depending on how big the cut is and how long it has been there, it could be infected and that means an immediate visit to the vet.

If you can write in with those answers, we'll see if we can figure something out. Hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews

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

QUESTION: thank you for your response.The cut is 1/2 inch long, it did not bleed alot at all. its been there for 2 months .Misty had cuts before from escaping her cage; however, they went away but not this time.

Answer
Hi again Shantaiel and Misty,

I'm so sorry it took me a little while to get back to you. I have been very under the weather today.

Anyway, it might have been deeper than you thought. Maybe it is starting to scar. Another possibility is, of course, infection, in which case I would most definitely suggest taking Misty to the vet. If it is infected, it could turn into a serious situation pretty quickly.

If MIsty has sustained injuries from her cage before, might I suggest looking into a new cage for her? Is something sticking out of the cage? What could she cut herself on? If something is sticking out and causing injury to Misty, then you should seriously consider finding a new cage to prevent this from happening. The best way to treat cuts is to prevent them.

My advice is to take Misty to the vet to make sure the cut will heal and make sure that it isn't infected. I hope everything works out for you and please keep me updated on Misty's condition. You should really get her into the vet as soon as possible, especially if she is acting any differently at all.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. I'm always here to help.

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews