>Back to my question, however.  When I was lathering Seymour up, I noticed
>for the first time that it looked as though he had nipples!... I am at a
>loss to explain this.  He is definitely a male...
 
You never had a male dog (some non-shaggy breed) as a pet did you?  Male
dogs, cats, baboons, humans, and even ferrets have nipples.  In fact, it
seems all mammals do....just part of being a mammal I guess!  Ask the
biologists here for the scientific explanations or for any exceptions to the
male mammal nipple thing.  It's their forte', not mine.
 
If you were to check your other boys very closely, I'm sure you would find
nipples - even if they are just little pink dots.  Seymour's just probably
has little bigger nipples than the others.  As for why some have more
prominent nipples than others, I'm not sure.  I suppose early neutering/no
neuter could play a factor, but then why does nipple/breast size vary in any
other species?  Take humans for example....I'm sure the difference in breast
size (esp.  female) is not missed by many!  ;) It's an individual
thing...the genes that you are dealt when you are conceived play a big role.
The vets may know about how neutering may effect things like nipple size in
ferrets or dogs and cats for that matter.
 
You are not alone....others who have had surgery on one of their boys (they
get a shave job) all of a sudden notice that their boy has nipples.  I did
get a giggle out of your post none the less!  :)
 
-kim, squirt (I got nipples and I'm proud of them!), pippi (yeah, I got
nipples. So what?), Atlas (Duh, what'sa nipple?), and Hijinx (she likes
to nip-ple!)
 
Kimberly Burkard     |             _    Everything I needed to know in life,
Eastman Kodak Company|      _____C .._. I learned from my ferret:
Rochester, New York  | ____/     \___/  Frolic and dance for joy often, have
[log in to unmask]<____/\_---\_\    no fear or worries, and enjoy life.
[Posted in FML issue 1421]