No flame taken. :) I am the vet tech that posted that little tidbit-I didn't say that there was no other medical problem or that there was no pain for this little guy-I just didn't feel it necessary for the purpose of my posting to get into the entire medical case for this guy-I just thought I was sharing something interesting about a ferret "peenie". The fragment was evaluated by an exotics lab and was not a bladder or kidney stone. I was just posting about the very unusual peenie episode without posting something super lengthy (like I usually do :) ) and that I thought would be interesting... (I agree-not too likely or common, but it did happen!) Dooks, -April AC, vet tech and ferret owner Part of Bob's post: >"Q: (A ditzy blonde sent this question to me with an ominous threat if I >didn't address it fully, I would get into trouble): "No way, Bob! Can >this actually happen? Peeing out the penis bone and all? Do you think >this is a urban myth?" Part of my original post: >You know, we actually had someone call our clinic saying they founnd >what looked like a bone in their ferret's litter box after he used it, >and his peepee area looked swollen and indeed, his little penis bone >had somehow broken and the broken part came out in the litterbox!" Part of Bob's post: >However, people do win the lottery, and while the chance of such an >event is extremely unlikely, it is not impossible. I could imagine >that a fragment of broken penis bone belonging to an early neutered >ferret, eroded perhaps by infection, urine, or both, could dissolve >enough so it would be small enough to pass through the remaining >portions of the urethra. So, while highly improbable, it is at least >theoretically possible. > >Now, I don't want ANYONE on the FML to assume I am flaming the person >who suggested this, because I tend to think people tell the truth about >their perceptions. I think people can be very accurate in reporting >what they perceive, even if the factual aspects are at fault. So, I >generally accept the report of a ferret urinating and something like a >bone is found in the litter box, even though I hesitate to accept the >diagnosis of penis bone fragment. [Posted in FML issue 5126]