Skin protrusion

Question
I just recently adopted 2 ferrets. The female had a small area on the back of her neck where she had previously been scratched by the male while playing. The area became a small bubble filled with fluid. The previous owners took her to the vet where they anesthetized her, made a small incision, and drained the fluid. They also put her on antibiotics. Now, the same area has formed a bubble again. Aside from the bubble, she seems to be healthy, as I have not noticed any change in behavior. I called the vet to see if I could get a refill of her previous prescription, but they refused unless I took her in again. I live very far out of the city and do not want to further stress her unless I have to. Do you know of anything I could do myself, or should I just take her to the vet? Thanks.

Answer
Hi Heather:

From your description, I suspect that your ferret has what is called a "mast cell tumor".  Before you panic because the word 'tumor' is there - let me explain that in the ferret world they are much like warts in the human world.  One of my ferrets has one right above her eye.  It's just a little scabby or blood-blister looking area at times; at times it looks like a little warty area. They occasionally will scratch them either while scratching around or wrestling with other ferrets and they will bleed a tiny bit, leaving a little scabby area.

I'm surprised at your previous vet doing surgery on it and it makes me wonder if this was a vet who is familiar with ferrets and the common ailments they get?  It's always a good idea to have a very experienced ferret vet - that was *probably* a surgery she didn't need to have...mast cell tumors almost always come back, so removing them is usually not recommended.

My suggestion would be to just watch the area.  As long as it remains on the surface (which it will do if it is a mast cell tumor) and doesn't change too much (it *may* get a bit larger in time; or it may never really change at all), she should be just fine.

The things that would send you to the vet would be frequent or profuse bleeding from the area, or if it's in a place where she scratches it open a lot, if the area gets hot, or exudes anything that looks like pus, because these two symptoms would indicate infection.

It's normal that a small area of fur around it may be bare where the little warty growth is.  These are really nothing to worry about; they do NOT mean your ferret has cancer - it's just an overgrowth of large cells that tend to group together. They are not a precursor to cancer. They just happen sometimes, much like warts in people.

If she gets any other symptoms, please feel free to write to me again, but I really feel that she's just fine and you probably won't need to do anything.  If it looks sore, you could put a rub a VERY tiny bit of antibiotic ointment on it, but remember, if it's anyplace she can get to, she will probably just lick it off, so don't put anything on it that you don't want her to eat.

Best of luck - don't hesitate to write again if you need to....until then, hug those precious fuzzies! :-)

jacquie rodgers