>did some bloodwork on a ferret this week; 4 year old female with a large
>mass on the right side of the abdomen; was supposed to be a pre-surgical
>panel.  the calcium was about 16 (normal up to 9.2 or so).
>differentials????  do lymphoma and other neoplasias leap to the top of the
>list as in other species?  lymphocyte count was normal and was about 30%
>of the total white blood cell count.  this does not rule out lymphoma,
>but.....
 
Hypercalcemia is generally not very common in ferrets.  the hypercalcemia
of malignancy of course has to be considered, and lymphoma certainly can
do it.  Abdominal masses are most commonly adrenal in origin, and I don't
think I have ever seen one of those result in hypercalcemia.
 
I think that actually renal disease is probably a more common cause, but
of cause that would show up in other tests as well.
 
A normal lymphocyte count with about 30% of the differential sounds pretty
textbook to me.  I'd be interested in hearing what the biopsy shows on this
ferret, and if the calcium drops after removal....
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
 
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[Posted in FML issue 3431]