No flame taken. :)  I am the vet tech that posted that little tidbit-I
didn't say that there was no other medical problem or that there was no
pain for this little guy-I just didn't feel it necessary for the purpose
of my posting to get into the entire medical case for this guy-I just
thought I was sharing something interesting about a ferret "peenie".
The fragment was evaluated by an exotics lab and was not a bladder or
kidney stone.
 
I was just posting about the very unusual peenie episode without posting
something super lengthy (like I usually do :) ) and that I thought would
be interesting... (I agree-not too likely or common, but it did happen!)
 
Dooks,
-April AC, vet tech and ferret owner
 
Part of Bob's post:
>"Q: (A ditzy blonde sent this question to me with an ominous threat if I
>didn't address it fully, I would get into trouble): "No way, Bob!  Can
>this actually happen?  Peeing out the penis bone and all?  Do you think
>this is a urban myth?"
 
Part of my original post:
>You know, we actually had someone call our clinic saying they founnd
>what looked like a bone in their ferret's litter box after he used it,
>and his peepee area looked swollen and indeed, his little penis bone
>had somehow broken and the broken part came out in the litterbox!"
 
Part of Bob's post:
>However, people do win the lottery, and while the chance of such an
>event is extremely unlikely, it is not impossible.  I could imagine
>that a fragment of broken penis bone belonging to an early neutered
>ferret, eroded perhaps by infection, urine, or both, could dissolve
>enough so it would be small enough to pass through the remaining
>portions of the urethra.  So, while highly improbable, it is at least
>theoretically possible.
>
>Now, I don't want ANYONE on the FML to assume I am flaming the person
>who suggested this, because I tend to think people tell the truth about
>their perceptions.  I think people can be very accurate in reporting
>what they perceive, even if the factual aspects are at fault.  So, I
>generally accept the report of a ferret urinating and something like a
>bone is found in the litter box, even though I hesitate to accept the
>diagnosis of penis bone fragment.
[Posted in FML issue 5126]