Hi, I have had some experience with blood blisters.  Samson, my now 2 year
old male had a blood blister (hematoma) in his left ear on the soft tissue.
It was getting so big that it was going to hinder his hearing, and it
looked painful.  I took him to the vet and they said that they would lance
it.  They mentioned that it is quite common in dogs, but had never seen on
in a ferret.  Anyway, they took him in that morning, put him under
anastesia (sp?) and lanced the blister.  They then stitched the ear (tough
cause it's so tiny) from front to back in hopes that it would not come
back.  They did have to redo it again few days later, but it was mostly
swelling at that point.  He has not had another on at all so far.  The vet
said that probably something happened to his ear, maybe playing rough with
the other ferrets.  Because of this, he doesn't like anyone to come near
his ears.  The whole thing cost ~$300, and they hardly charged me anything
for the 2nd go.
 
Also, I have never written to the FML yet.  I have three ferrets right
now.  2 2 year old males and one 1.3 year old female.  My first ferret I
purchased at a pet store because I had always wanted one.  Her name was
Roxie.  I didn't know anything at the time, but I loved her very much.  I
learned everything I could get my hands on, the internet, books, etc..
Anyway, I then go to the pet store to get another to keep her company.  In
comes Simba, a male.  A month later I happen to go to the pet store to get
some food.  There was Samson.  Someone had returned him because he was to
hyper.  He just did the was dance on the counter and made me laugh.  So, I
had now experienced ferret math and told myself I wouldn't get another
because I had as many as I could handle.
 
Well, last October I had to go out of town for a week for work.  One of my
friends stayed at my place to watch them.  Well, somehow Roxie go out of
the house on the last day she was there.  I came home, called for the
ferrets and was greeted by Simba and Samson.  I thought Roxie was sleeping,
but went and looked for her a few hours later.  I couldn't find her
anywhere.  To make a long story short (and a painful one) I looked for her
everyday outside the house for a month.  I took every single tip I could
on finding her but had no luck.  I live out in the boonies where there are
a lot of predators.  She always came to a squeaky toy.
 
After that month I gave up.  I still wonder what happened to her.  A piece
of my heart is still with her.  Well, after a period of mourning, I went to
the local shelter and wanted to adopt a ferret.  I found 2 girls.  One 1
year old that was found wandering on the streets, and one 5 year old girl
that was so incredibly sweet and laid back.  Well, I decided to take the 1
year old girl (Sassy) and try her out at home first.  Samson is extremely
territorial and I was afraid for the older girl.  Well, I guess my decision
was right because it took me two months to even get them to be in the same
cage, and that was because I was stubborn.  Sammy is still not to fond of
her and will play very roughly with her, but at least I do not need to keep
them apart.  She now fights back as well.  So, everything goes great here
and the ferrets are happy.
 
I will be moving to Blacksburg, VA on July 1st.  I have to try and find a
vet there, but hopefully there will be one around.
 
That's my story.  of anyone has questions about the blood blister, please
feel free to e-mail me.
 
Judi, Simba, Samson, & Sassy
[Posted in FML issue 3053]