Hi everyone,
 
I would like to share our experiences with tail bumps.  The first one
appeared on my beloved R2, may he rest in peace, and we thought he had
caught it in a door or something.  But as time went on and it got bigger, we
checked in with Dr. Mike and found out that it was a tumor.  He was just
three years of age when he had the tail amputation.  Lakota developed one
this year and we immediately took him in and he also had an amputation.
Both boys seemed to do quite well after removal of the tail.
 
So, we view all bumps as "suspicious" and have Dr. Mike check them out and
if they are cancerous tumors, the tail should be amputated to prevent
spreading of the cancer.
 
Dear little Peanut Willow got weighed yesterday, with Dr. Mike cooing and
kissing her and calling her his special sweetheart.  She is up to 2 1/2
pounds now.  She is our deveopmentally disabled little girl.
 
To the person who asked about early neutering of ferrets, we firmly believe
that Peanut and her brother Flash, did not grow correctly or develop well
because they had been neutered as infants.  We have only our bunch and all
the others who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge to compare them to, and they
are the only ones who had growth problems.  Dr. Mike likes to wait until
they are 6 months old and have their growth before he neuters.  I agree with
his policy simply because the ones who have been done at that age (or later
in the case of two males who came to our shelter well past one year old)
have had normal growth and fewer medical problems.
 
The bunch have been up and are all down for their afternoon naps.  All the
cages are in our living room so that even when they are in the cage, they
are part of the action going on around.  Now Lir, my German Shepherd is
moaning about it being his turn for some fun.  He has to sleep in his crate
while the fuzzies play.  However, the day has turned blistering hot over
here and we will have to play in the house.  Tomorrow, we will take Lir and
Petey, the Corgi, to the ocean for some fun in the sand and sea.  It is
always about 20 degrees cooler on the true coast and gives us a break from
the heat.  The fuzzies will stay home in their air conditioned room.
 
By for now from the CritterPen Rescue.
Cheryl
[Posted in FML issue 2032]