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Sick Ferret - Advice
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Joshua Hudson
Jun 25, 2012, 10:41:37 AM6/25/12
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Hi Guys,
I have a sick Approx 2 year old male ferret who has had a growing lump towards the top of his tail.
I have taken to the vet, who gave me some drugs. this has helped the swelling going down but I have been told they recommend amputating the tail. He with with two others.
im a little worred the others wont take to him without the tail if they do this, or even worse he has problems without his tail. Has anyone got a ferret who have had their tail amputated.
he doenst seem to be in pain by the lump, but always looks red, sore and grows when he isnt on the medication. The vet has checked and seems there is a little blood and puss in there, not like its a hard mass.
Any advice from anyone out there when dealing with these problems?
Cheers guys
J
I have a sick Approx 2 year old male ferret who has had a growing lump towards the top of his tail.
I have taken to the vet, who gave me some drugs. this has helped the swelling going down but I have been told they recommend amputating the tail. He with with two others.
im a little worred the others wont take to him without the tail if they do this, or even worse he has problems without his tail. Has anyone got a ferret who have had their tail amputated.
he doenst seem to be in pain by the lump, but always looks red, sore and grows when he isnt on the medication. The vet has checked and seems there is a little blood and puss in there, not like its a hard mass.
Any advice from anyone out there when dealing with these problems?
Cheers guys
J
steve robinson
Jun 25, 2012, 11:39:36 AM6/25/12
to
yuo have the tail amputated get a second opinion, if the drugs are
working then it seems pointless to cut his tail off , these things can
take some time to heal .
They use the tails for balanceing and communication but will learn to
live without it if he has to
FerretDad
Jun 26, 2012, 3:58:43 PM6/26/12
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Joshua Hudson wrote:
>
> Hi Guys,
> I have a sick Approx 2 year old male ferret who has had a growing lump
> towards the top of his tail.
>
> I have taken to the vet, who gave me some drugs. this has helped the
> swelling going down but I have been told they recommend amputating the
> tail. He with with two others.
>
> im a little worred the others wont take to him without the tail if they
> do this, or even worse he has problems without his tail. Has anyone got
> a ferret who have had their tail amputated.
>
> he doenst seem to be in pain by the lump, but always looks red,
> sore and grows when he isnt on the medication. The vet has checked
> and seems there is a little blood and puss in there,
> not like its a hard mass.
>
I agree with what Steve said....get a 2nd opinion before amputating his
>
> Hi Guys,
> I have a sick Approx 2 year old male ferret who has had a growing lump
> towards the top of his tail.
>
> I have taken to the vet, who gave me some drugs. this has helped the
> swelling going down but I have been told they recommend amputating the
> tail. He with with two others.
>
> im a little worred the others wont take to him without the tail if they
> do this, or even worse he has problems without his tail. Has anyone got
> a ferret who have had their tail amputated.
>
> he doenst seem to be in pain by the lump, but always looks red,
> sore and grows when he isnt on the medication. The vet has checked
> and seems there is a little blood and puss in there,
> not like its a hard mass.
>
tail. It sounds like some antibiotic cream might solve the problem. I had a
male ferret with an infected cyst once (he scratched it raw). It got worse
and worse and NeoSporin finally fixed it. Took a long time though.
If the tail has to go (cancer only, imo), he'll do fine without it and the
other ferrets will still love him.
G.
Joshua Hudson
Jun 27, 2012, 6:42:45 AM6/27/12
to
Thanks all for the reply. The cyst has been about for a bit, and drugs tend to make it look alot better, but that is anti-inflamatory and some antibiotics twice a day. It has been going on for about 4 months now, when the drugs wear out, they look again and give me more. He doesnt like taking them, often spitting them out. dont think they taste very nice so pinnning him down and forcing him to take them is a little stressful for both of us.
Have been advised by the vet that it is healing and swelling going down, but very high chance it will come back. There arent that many vets that know that much about ferrets in the UK. The one i have seen seems to know alot. Recomended to stop any further complications.
Just dont want him to get to stressed about being forced to take medication and defently dont want him to loose his pack
Have been advised by the vet that it is healing and swelling going down, but very high chance it will come back. There arent that many vets that know that much about ferrets in the UK. The one i have seen seems to know alot. Recomended to stop any further complications.
Just dont want him to get to stressed about being forced to take medication and defently dont want him to loose his pack
steve robinson
Jun 27, 2012, 9:38:04 AM6/27/12
to
our little monsters favourite munchies , mix it in with his food , cat
foods great for this it kills the taste of most medications.
Speak to the vet and see if you ca mix the medication in his water,
used to do that with one of my other ferrets (mainly because he weighed
in about 9 pounds and had a bite that went through bone if you ticked
him off )
FerretDad
Jun 27, 2012, 5:20:32 PM6/27/12
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Joshua Hudson wrote:
>
<snip>
> Have been advised by the vet that it is healing and swelling going down,
> but very high chance it will come back. There arent that many vets that
> know that much about ferrets in the UK. The one i have seen seems to know
> alot. Recomended to stop any further complications.
Ask your vet about a topical anti-bacterial/anti-biotic lotion to put on the
tail in addition to the by-mouth medication. If not, try applying Neosporin
twice a day. It worked for my Fred.
As you also mentioned, Ferret-smart vets are rare and hard to find.
It sounds to me like the tail amputation is an extreme reaction and wrong. I
wouldn't think of choosing that at this point.
Hope that helps a bit,
Gary
>
<snip>
> Have been advised by the vet that it is healing and swelling going down,
> but very high chance it will come back. There arent that many vets that
> know that much about ferrets in the UK. The one i have seen seems to know
> alot. Recomended to stop any further complications.
tail in addition to the by-mouth medication. If not, try applying Neosporin
twice a day. It worked for my Fred.
As you also mentioned, Ferret-smart vets are rare and hard to find.
It sounds to me like the tail amputation is an extreme reaction and wrong. I
wouldn't think of choosing that at this point.
Hope that helps a bit,
Gary
FerretDad
Jun 27, 2012, 5:27:23 PM6/27/12
to
steve robinson wrote:
>
> Speak to the vet and see if you ca mix the medication in his water,
> used to do that with one of my other ferrets
Great idea to mix it in with food, not water.
>
> Speak to the vet and see if you ca mix the medication in his water,
> used to do that with one of my other ferrets
Do the warm gravy meal that I make for my ferret treats.
Powder their dry mix and add hot water to make a thick gravy. You can sneak
in some of that medication to that and they probably won't even notice it's
in there.
> (mainly because he weighed in about 9 pounds and had a bite that went
> through bone if you ticked him off )
:-o
Gary
steve robinson
Jun 27, 2012, 5:54:40 PM6/27/12
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normally really freindly
FerretDad
Jun 29, 2012, 3:38:45 PM6/29/12
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A 9 pound ferret sounds like a record one to me.
Fred was my only male so far (and males are larger) but at his biggest and
fattest, he was no more than 5 pounds. The females usually weigh in at less
than 3 pounds.
Gary
steve robinson
Jun 29, 2012, 4:28:57 PM6/29/12
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