To Cindy Mosch and Halley
 
Cindy, while the bump could be a sebaceous cyst - in my experience, these are
bumps underneath the skin which do not bleed or scab.  You may be dealing with
one of several types of tumors which are on the surface of the skin and often
ulcerate - namely mast cell tumors or sebaceous epitheliomas.  Both of these
tumors are benign, easily removed, and fairly easy diagnoses for most
veterinary pathologists.  Malignant skin tumors only arise in les than 5% of
cases.  My suggestion - have the vet remove it and get it checked out.
 
Concerning whhezing - ferrets occasionally get asthma or bronchitis, but this
usually results in a hacking cough.  A CBC and a thoracic X-ray should provide
more information over a simple auscultation of the chest, but if it isn't
bothering Halley much, you can probably wait for a little bit.  Perhaps doing
everything at once, including the tumor removal, is something that you can
schedule over the next few weeks.
 
Bruce Williams  ([log in to unmask])
[Posted in FML issue 1091]