I know a person who once made the mistake of cleaning the cage of female
who was in estrus and then cleaning the cage of a whole male.  He decided
that the cylindrical shape of an arm was something to mate with --
including using the neck grip near her wrist.
 
I have once had a similar experience over 15 years ago -- a male
(Hjalmar) with a serious adrenal growth (in his case lymphoma/
lymphosarcoma based in his right adrenal) decided that my calf was an
appropriate mating target.
 
Most adrenal growths are benign but still should come out - or be
treated if there is a reason that the ferret is not a surgical candidate
(Examples: with Lupron Depot injections and melatonin implants in the
U.S., or with Suprelorin injections and oral melatonin at the appropriate
time in Australia).  There is an excellent past (2003) vet post on why
it is unfair to not treat an adrenal growth (I just saw a survey figure
last night which really upset me with the sad information that too many
people don't provide care, so forgive me for piggy backing this info
here, please.  It may help a lot of ferrets.).  This is another item I
have author permission to quote.  The author is Dr. Bruce Williams:
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=SG5054
 
>But I think that Melissa and Sukie have covered the dire possibilities
>very well (and they are very real.)
 
>However, even under the best conditions, when there is no malignancy,
>there is no bone marrow toxicosis, there is no prostatic cystic
>disease - even the most mild prediction is a sad one.  Ferrets
>with adrenal disease have a diminished quality of life - they have
>progressive muscle loss, low grade anemia, they tend to redistribute
>weight to the abdomen, further making it difficult to walk, they have
>an increased incidence of gastric ulcers as a result of the stress of
>chronic illness, decreased bone density - none life-threatening, but all
>life-compromising.  Even medical treatment, which is not my preferred
>way of treating adrenal disease, gives slight releif to symptoms.
>Doing nothing is not kind and not in a ferret's best interest.
>
>With kindest regards,
>Bruce Williams, DVM
 
Notice is updates on medical treatments that we now know that
approached like Lupron, Suprelorin, and even to a lesser extent
melatonin provide much better results than had been previously thought
though surgery is still usually the best approach, depending on the
ferret, the case, and the vet's surgical capabilities.  Hopefully,
with more knowledge those medical approaches can be refined to be
even better.  I suggest also going to
 
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=SG5035
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=SG5037
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/PDF/neoplasia.pdf
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/aae.html  (This one has some dissection
                                       photos and is old.)
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/adrenal.htm
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/melatonin.htm
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/murray.htm
 
It is alternatively possible that this is behavioral, especially if this
ferret was abused, THOUGH YOU SHOULD HAVE A VET APPOINTMENT FIRST TO
ELIMINATE THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ADRENAL GROWTH.  Some ferrets associate
certain things or body parts with abuse.  I recall a ferret Julianna was
rehabbing who had to have the cage placed high so that shoes and feet
could not even be seen, and one Susie was rehabbing who had to be lifted
with thick-cloth covered hands so that there wasn't even a hand shape.
We have rehabbed two who -- once they recovered enough -- needed to be
given shoes to beat up (not just the standard shoe play) -- to feel safe
again, and one of those also needed an all-weather gear coat to tear into
to feel mastery over the past abuse.  (That one took years to be able to
kiss any male, even Steve, and at first she had to kiss his back or kiss
him while he was asleep because she'd been so abused by a male, so gender
of a rehabber can matter at times.  She adored him but she had been
through a very hard time before coming here.  We have had another who
was that way with females for a while -- but time and gentleness heal
many things, so those ferrets were helped.
[Posted in FML issue 4900]