Hi!
 
I'm new to the list, but not to ferrets!  My husband and I have two little
girls - Jasla (5) and Sprite (2), and one little boy - Tasslehoff (2).  Our
other little girl - Brandy, unfortunately went to weasel war dance in the
sky about two years ago when she was 3, due to an adrenal gland tumor.  We
take comfort in knowing that she's bouncing happily around with other
ferrets up there, and can dig up any plants she wants to!  And to Peter H.
Raymond, we know Stevie is up there with her!  Something that made us feel
better after we lost Brandy, was to mix her ashes amongst some soil in the
back yard and plant a little rose bush in her memory.  This way, we know her
life carries on, just in a different form.
 
In the meantime, we love our little fuzzies, and I know I will enjoy reading
the FML.  It's also nice to know that other people have "original" ferret
names!
 
Also, I am definitely not a vet, but I thought I might try to give some
suggestions regarding one of the questions on the FML:
 
>My Shadow has a bump on the tip of her tail that has always been there.
>Vets never made anything of it, and it doesn't seem to bother her either.
>But the tip of her tail has a bump on it - like a bubble or something.
>Strange.  Any ideas?
 
To Michelle, this may be a skin tumor or a cyst which can be very common in
aging ferrets, although they can occur at any age.  I'm actually dealing
with one myself right now on my 5 year old, so I've been doing some
research.  If you have access to the web, you may want to check out:
  <http://www.optics.rochester.edu:8080/users/pgreene/faq/med/mast.html>
 
Typically the are benign, but it is usually best to remove them because they
irritate the ferret.  Let me know if you can't access the site, and I will
elaborate.  It seems like it would be an awful shame for Shadow to lose
his/her little tail as was mentioned, if she/he could just get the bump
removed!
 
See ya!
ARC
[Posted in FML issue 2033]