>we have a three year old male (fixed) that has exhibited a huge polycystic
>formation on his left kidney.  This was reduced once and is back...it's
>about the size of a ping pong ball (minus a bit) and feels just as round
>when you palpate it.  He is still eating but losing muscle weight unless
>we supplement with "duck soup".  He is also lethargic and is only up for
>a very short time before going back to sleep.  He's in the vets today for
>xrays but I was hoping that you may have a bit to pass on to our vet...she
>is very ferret friendly and knowledgeable to a point...still learning as
>we all are.
 
Dear Scott and Cyndi:
 
These cysts will just keep filling up over and over again.  My suggestion
would be to run bloodwork and find out how the kindeys are working.  If
everything checks out (as I am supposing that it will), then an exploratory
is in order.
 
It is not always a cyst, but often when you go in, you will find that the
kidney itself is enlarged and hollow due to blockage of the ureter (often
due to a pre-existent urinary tract infection), and inability to pass
urine.  The increased pressure eventually causes atrophy of the kidney and
a condition known as hydronephrosis.
 
During the exploratory, your vet can determine whether the kidney is
salvageable or not, and will likely remove the kidney.  However, ferrets
do very well on only one kidney, and can live a full lifespan.
 
Else, you run the likelihood of redoing the surgery every year.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3321]