To Tiger:
 
What your ferret had was a bot fly.  They are moderately common in some
areas of N. America.  I'm sure Mo'Bob has seen lots and could also comment.
The female lays her eggs one at a time under the skin of a mammal, usually
at the neck.  If it were laid other places the animal could more easily
scratch or bite it and get rid of the developing larva.
 
The egg hatches, and the larva lives by secreting enzymes which dissolve the
tissue around it, and then digesting the liquid protein soup.  They also
secrete a sort of antibiotic -- it wouldn't do them any good to have their
host die of some bacterial infection before the larva reached adulthood --
but they *don't* secrete a painkiller.
 
**WARNING: RATED R FOR REPULSIVE...IF YOU'RE SQUEAMISH DON'T READ THIS
PART...**
 
I've done livetrapping of small rodents in the southwestern US and seen as
many as 3 of these (each the size of the last joint on an average-size
thumb) embedded in the neck of a pack rat (no, I'm not talking about Bob!
;-> ).  A scientist friend had a female bot fly leave him a "little gift" on
the back of his neck, and in the spirit of scientific curiosity he left it,
to observe and take notes.  He lasted just under 2 weeks, at which time it
was under 3/8 of an inch.  He said the squirming of the larva was maddening,
he couldn't sleep, and the itching in the surrounding tissue as it broke
down due to the larval enzymes was more than he could handle.  He had his
wife, a registered nurse, remove it with a scalpel and tweezers.  It
promptly healed (because of the "antibiotic" secretions).
 
They're pretty easy to remove, and anyone who has outdoor ferrets in the
warmer rural areas needs to look for them.
 
JodyLee
 
JodyLee Estrada Duek                    [log in to unmask]
Faculty Development Specialist          520/626-2203
Division of Academic Resources          520/626-6707
U. of Arizona School of Medicine        520/626-4879 (fax)
1501 N. Campbell Avenue
Tucson, Arizona  85724-5120
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[Posted in FML issue 1675]