To Cindy Sooy: >My 3 1/2 year old hob, Axel, has a small lump ... on the left side of his >neck near his shoulder. My vet thought at first that it might be a cyst and >she tried to get some fluid from it but apparently it is very solid. Cindy - subcutaneous tumors are very common in ferrets and may arise quickly. The key here is that over 95% are benign. > She said some animals get calcium deposits but she thought he was too >young for that, so she thought it was probably a sarcoma or fibrosarcoma. Ferrets rarely get calcium depostis, and then only in areas of previous vaccinations. They also rarely get fibrosarcoma - sarcomas (malignant tumors of non-epidermal origin) that I have seen are hemangiosarcoma (a tumor of blood vessels) and neurofibrosarcoma (a tumor of nerves) - but both of these are low-grade, easily removed, and I have never seen metastasis. > I am on vacation from May 13 to May 21 and if surgery is warranted it >will be done at this time. That's the ticket!!! -- Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP Department of Veterinary Pathology [log in to unmask] Armed Forces Institute of Pathology [log in to unmask] Washington, D.C. 20306-6000 (202) 782-2600/2602 [Posted in FML issue 1185]