>My boy (6.5years) builds recently one small wart on his forhead.  For
>about one year, I've seen a small scratched scar there, but not recently
>that didn't become such a size.
 
Dear X:
 
Warty tumors on the skin of ferrets are invariably benign, and most likely
are sebaceous epitheliomas, the most common neoplasm of the skin of the
ferret.  They can usually be easily removed.  You can find more about
these tumors, including some images, at my site at
http://www.afip.org/ferrets
 
Let's get it removed at your earliest convenience, but don't lose a lot
of sleep over it.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
 
  ---
 
>My 5 year old ferret (Neutered male) has had a recurring scab on his nose
>for close to a year now.  It exfoliate and regrows automatically every 3
>weeks or o.  Recently we did a biopsy on the scab itself and no cancerous
>cell was found ( we did not biopsy the root itself).  It does not seems
>to bother him and his overall health is fine.  Has any of you experienced
>such thing?
 
Dear Y:
 
At this time, it is probably best to do a deeper biopsy.  Recurrent growth
is very consistent with a tumor.  Overlying scabs are generally composed
of inflammatory cells, bacteria, and blood components, and rarely contain
any live neoplastic cells.  As such, scabs are high on my list of things
I generally find of little use for diagnosis (a list which also contains
things an animal coughs up or blows out of its nose.)
 
But if it keeps coming back every couple of weeks for a year, it is
likely not going to go away without some definitive treatment, and you
can't definitively treat something without knowing what it is...
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
 
[Sukie note: those with ferrets that have skin growths will want to also
read up under mast cell tumors in ferrets, including why they don't pose
the risks that they do for dogs.]
[Posted in FML issue 3738]