To Diane Emery:
 
>But, this morning I noticed that his little, um, nub on his tummy
>(remnants of a penis no longer there?  or is it still there and just not
>functional?) was very red and raw looking and there looked like a little
>dried blood.
 
    Diane - all male ferrets whether they are neutreed or not, have a penis
- what you are describing is the preputial sheath.  The ferret's penis is
not extended most of the time, and generally, only the tip is extended
during urination.  It's quite functional, I assure you...
 
    Ferrets will occasionally traumatize the sheath or the end of the penis
on the cage floor, cage dorr, or when wrestling with another ferret.  This
area is very vascular and tends to bleed a lot, but it rarely causes much of
a problem.  I have seen one or two cases where a scar formed which
interfered with penile extension, but really no serious problems.
 
>He is peeing fine, no blood there, and he is not tender at all, just raw.
>Is there something I should put on it to make sure it doesnt get infected?
>I wiped off his belly with a wet washcloth and he didnt seem to care.
>Should I just keep an eye on it?
 
    I think just keeping an eye on it is best at this time.  He's keeping
it clean by washing it himself.  I wouldn't put anything on it, because
he'll probably just lick it off.....
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP
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Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
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[Posted in FML issue 1340]