>One of my ferrets, Teddy, was just diagnosed with a fibroma in his left
>shoulder.  It has engulfed his whole nerve in the leg and to remove it
>would mean amputation.  The biopsy came back negative, thank God.
 
Dear Eleanor,
 
First let me say I'm sorry you are going through this problem with your
ferret.  Ferrets can get around on three legs just fine... dogs and cats
can do it, and ferret has a much lower center of gravity :-).  So if you
decide to have the leg amputated, you should not worry too much about
that.
 
Thus providing some quality while dealing with the occurrence.  This
manifestation of the fibroma has nothing to do with diet, or breeding -
it seems that the scarring and reaction to vaccinations has prompted
this occurrence.  I am so very sorry for you and for Teddy.  We have had
several over the years with the same fibroma from vaccine reaction in the
shelter system.
 
I think the course of action for ferret owners is to start to demand
research into the actual amount of vaccine required to vaccinate ferrets
in the US.  Our veterinary system mandates the same amount of vaccine
for a 1 pound ferret as is administered to a 140 pound dog.  When you
compound that it is a yearly requirement on ferrets ( based on ruling
of CDC) when dogs & cats only get rabies vaccinations every 3 years-- it
is not hard to understand why you would see this happen-- sad to say.
 
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
 
Alicia
www.ferretwise.org
 
Alicis
[Posted in FML issue 4265]