To Niki Barnes:
 
>I have a three month old male ferret that was descented and fixed before I
>bought him at a pet store just over a week ago.  My question is:  is it
>normal for a neutered ferret to have such a noticeable odor?
 
    Niki:
 
    Some people are very sensitive to ferret odor; it may not be the
ferret's fault at all.  Young ferrets also have a more distinct odor than
older ones, which tends to dissipate with time, so I wouldn't do anything
right away.
 
    Another possibility is that of a retained testicle.  Even though ferets
may come with papers saying they have been fixed, occasionally a testicle
may have been missed in the abdomen or in the inguinal canal.  These
animals will act and smell just like they are intact.  I adopted a "fixed"
male once - one day int he house, and a look at his greasy fur and bad B.O.
and it was off to find that other testicle.  Once we found it (in the
inguinal canal, just under the skin), he cleaned up very nicely.
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP
[log in to unmask]  OR
Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
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[Posted in FML issue 1285]