Dear Christine:
 
>Hi all!  I was hoping you all could help me with an issue that my husband
>assures me is normal, but I thought I would ask the experts (that would
>be you).  A couple months ago, my 3-year old girl (Smokey) developed two
>protrusions that looked like tiny nipples.  She now has six of them.  She
>is fixed (although to hear her tell it, she was never broken in the first
>place) and I would think she is a little old to just be reaching sexual
>maturity.  Any input?  I just want to make sure this is normal since they
>are our first ferrets and we have had them for three years without any
>problems.
 
Well, nipples are normal - all ferrets have them.  Tough to say why you are
seeing them now - is there abdominal hair loss?
 
In some cases of hyperestrogenism as a result of adrenal disease, you can
see engorgement of the mammary glands.
 
Certainly, this certainly isn't enough to start worrying about adrenal
disesae at this point, but you may want to keep it in the back of your
mind.
 
Without any other signs of disease, I would still probably consider it
normal at this point - unusual, perhaps, but not pathologic.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3258]