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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2015 3:41:27 GMT -5
And the vet would have to do a biopsy to confirm its MCT for sure. Yeah I thought that was interesting how the same kind of tumor can be fine in one species but fatal to another.
I now understand this can make him itchy but does the itch come with flare ups or are they itchy right from being born? Could this be why I think he has allergies or are allergies causing MCT since he's been itchy always a little extra? Or does MCT just happen like cancer at random? Im going to try the reishi capsules and definitely get sudocreme tomorrow and possibly Benadryl just incase theres an allergic reaction to the mushroom? Regardless he's due for a check up for the year. Does anyone have any experience with flareups of MCT while on flea medication?
Should I soak the scab when it clumps everything around it up? Or would that irritate the tumor to grow more? He wont let me touch his head/neck and I just thought he didn't want anything to do with me or something but that didnt make sense even though he's not a people ferret. He will come and lay down beside me while im sitting on the floor and ill go to pet his head to tail and he shoots off but will come back for another quick visit so now I understand he's not feeling well from the scabs and tumor.
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Post by katt on Jan 14, 2015 11:51:28 GMT -5
The allergies and MCT are most likely unrelated BUT the MCT Could in theory possibly be due to the allergies, as allergies lead to increased mast cell activation. The reason MCTs are Mast Cell Tumors is they are essentially little growths with tons of mast cells. Mast cells are special immune cells that release histamine which causes itching, sneezing, and other allergy symptoms depending on where it is released. In the case of MCTs the histamine is released locally, causing itching at the site of the tumor.
There shouldn't be an allergic reaction to the reishi, and I would not at all advise giving him benadryl. Benadryl topical Cream can help the itching, but unless you have been instructed by the vet to give him benadryl for his other allergy symptoms I would avoid it.
If he isn't feeling well I would advise a trip to the vet. An MCT, even one that is flared up and scabbed, is not going to cause him to not feel good. Think of them as being like...bug bites. A mosquito bite is really annoying and itchy, but it's not going to make you sick.
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Post by Heather on Jan 14, 2015 12:09:52 GMT -5
Agreed. I've had a number of ferrets with MCTs, they usually don't cause problems other than being there. Some are not even itchy. Odin had one on his shoulder. There was no base to the growth, so other than scrapping which the vet was not prepared to do, I had to let it go until there was really something to remove. He would go weeks, months without it showing up, then one morning it would be there....it would grow over 24 hrs and then either it got scratched or it would burst itself and it would be gone. The whole process lasting no more than 3 days. It was hard to even get him in to see the vet because of the short time line. Thor on the other hand, grew one right on the back of his head, between his ears (told him it was his brains oozing out....not really possible the poor boy was as dumb as a stump) His had to be removed, it wouldn't heal, just continued to grow, ooze and looked horrible. Neither ferret was ill or was even slightly off. In fact, didn't appear to notice these tumours. They can be itchy but in both these cases didn't appear to cause the ferret any undo stress.....they bothered me. If your ferret appears to be ill and it appears to be directly related to the appearance of these "sores" then please have the cysts analyzed. Ferrets run a little cancer industry all of their own. What makes them so hard to treat is what is ok for one ferret is not for another and is fatal for the next. We can only give you what we've experienced, we're not vets, we are only giving a best guess. Do not treat with benedryl, go to the vet. You may treat and find that it has masked part of the truth causing an error and maybe even a mistreatment in the diagnosis. Find out what it is, then treat as necessary. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2015 11:41:08 GMT -5
Thank you everyone for the information. Ill take him to his appointment next month and see what the vet says before I do anything since he's been fine the whole time having these scabs. Just paranoid here! The first ferret I brought home was off kijiji and he ended up being sick all the time so I'm always worried if my boys are in good health.
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Post by katt on Jan 15, 2015 13:02:18 GMT -5
Fingers crossed he checks out with good health. I would get a blood work panel just in case, as they are REALLY good at hiding things. It's always good to have a normal baseline blood panel too, so that when he does get sick you have something to compare to. Every ferret, just like every individual human, can have slightly different "normals," so what shows up in "normal range" for him might actually be low or high compared to his personal normals, and vice versa.
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Post by Blue on Jan 15, 2015 16:14:24 GMT -5
I just always have had this feeling Mali will get really sick on me since he is albino or since his depression after losing his first litter mate back a few years ago. Do albino animals get health issues usually? I think albino and sable are the two "natural" colorings for ferrets (see top of the HFF page! I always thought that logo was cute and very well thought out). It's the DEWs (dark-eyed whites) that tend to have the health problems. For example, they're often deaf, whereas albinos aren't.
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Post by katt on Jan 15, 2015 16:52:52 GMT -5
While it is true Blue that Sable/Poley and Albino are the two natural colorings, unfortunately the health thing is no longer really true in mill ferrets. They have all been so horribly bred for so long that even sables and albinos experience Waardenberg's syndrome and other genetic issues. Look at Heather 's ferret Thor - he was a sable and about as Waardy as it gets. :/
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Post by Blue on Jan 15, 2015 17:41:01 GMT -5
Yeah, poor mill ferrets are in a sad state. But at least the albinos shouldn't be more likely to have problems than any of the others!
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Post by Heather on Jan 15, 2015 23:49:28 GMT -5
One of the most difficult issues to deal with is the issue of colour/markings. Health "is" directly related to colour the problem is when you breed for fancy colours and markings you will get straight sables and possibly albinos (the two natural colours)in your litters as well as your fancy colours. More and more people are becoming aware that certain colours and markings represent greater chance of health issues. Unfortunately, just buying either sables or albinos will not save you from the health issues within that litter. If that sable came from a high risk litter he/she will be carrying the same defective genes. Thor was one of those sables. Thor was a classic Waardy, structurally and mentally....but he was a gorgeous dark sable. The hint to what actually was in his background....a lighting flash barely visible under his chin, milk toes on his front feet and a broken coloured nose. Thor was the product of a BYB. He wasn't a farm ferret but it didn't matter. His breeder wasn't interested in breed integrity. Even the albinos over here aren't pure. If you were to breed and albino to an albino over here you would get a mixed litter. Breeders claim there are no real albinos left over here. The only albinos that are available are the ones in the farms themselves, pink eyed whites (product of mixed based litters). They're often kept to create the special colours. Years ago, you couldn't get a DEW kit....because the only way to get a DEW was to buy a silver (a dilute) and let them roan out. Now you can buy a sable kit who will become a DEW (again a product of a dilute). They're now breeding for DEWs, a high mortality, death wish for the kits involved. The problem is that even if you buy an albino or a sable produced by the farms or by a BYB either will be as likely to have the colour related health problems. The only way to avoid these problems caused by colour is to buy from respected breeders who can trace their sable or albino lines back for several generations. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 11:53:19 GMT -5
Oh complete opposite of what I thought I knew about abinos. Thanks everyone! Ill be taking him to the vet soon in the next week or 2 as soon as I can. He seems to be very tired lately and im not sure exactly how much hes eating since Cooper my younger ferret eats a lot and the food dish gets filled everyday. So im going to make Mali soups and get baby chicken food since his weight isnt what id like it to be even though hes always been on the slimmer side. Ive noticed for a week or so He feels a bit more thin around his shoulders and hips and i find when my guys get sick their fur is chilly to the touch since they lose weight but i could just be worrying to much. I had him playing yesterday morning and he had a blast surprisingly, havnt seen him play that hard in a bit, but when I let him out last night he just wanted to patrol then snuggle up for sleep and this just was noticed right then and there he was easily pushed over like if the wind blew he would fall over but not that severe.. I dont know if its from playing really long and hard and having no energy for later? But after 5 hours of sleep you would think hed be ready to go again. Im just noticing some lethargic responses in him that i haven't seen since he was depressed. The sore on his neck is still the same size and is covered with a scab for the moment. Still trying to find sudocreme since I could really use it on myself regardless before talking to the vet for using it on Mali but it must be really popular since the shelves in any drug store is cleaned out.
The only thing I can think of that would make Mali stressed for a long period of time to have MCT often is if he is still depressed.
Im just trying to understand my little guy. He's always been a little different compared to the other 2 ferrets and I worry about him since I could have lost him through that depression already.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 12:05:46 GMT -5
You're in Canada, so I'm not sure if you have Amazon. You can order it thru them, but then again, I don't know how Amazon works in Canada.
When you say that Mali was easily pushed over, do you mean that he stumbled or fell over. Have you seen any signs of hind leg weakness?
Hold Mali up and let him dangle. He should be straight up and down with no waistline. You should be able to feel his ribs, not see them. If he has a waistline and and you can see his ribs, then he is a little too thin.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 12:40:51 GMT -5
The first ferret I had could stand up and beg on his back legs. Mali cant hold himself up unless he uses his front paws to hold on for leverage. I have seen him jump my baby gate off the ferret cage that was 2-3 feet away from each-other though a year or 2 ago. Other then that he will rely on his upper body strength. It was like a fall and stumble. I will put my hands out to redirect his path away from the shoe rug or my pillows on my bed and he will dodge my hand but almost trip over himself in his attempt to move in a different direction. Hes not thin enough to see his ribs and he has nice long fur to make that judgment correct but he should be gaining weight or have his winter belly still. Even when he gained his winter weight and fur he didnt get that big and it didnt stay long either. His weight fluctuates quick. I just want to make sure hes not hiding an illness along with MCT or its something all completly different that maybe you guys can help me with.
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Post by katt on Jan 21, 2015 16:43:44 GMT -5
Poor baby. He sounds like he's a sensitive little guy. You said his weight fluctutes a lot. How old is he again? Adrenal disease can cause muscle wasting that appears like weight loss, and MCTs for some reason seem to occur at higher frequencies in ferrets with adrenal disease.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2015 12:37:56 GMT -5
He turns 5 this march yes he is sensitive. Weight goes up and down all the time but it scares me when he's flip floppy with himself when he looses too much. Yeah its like he's really tired cuz he's normal other then having the scabs "MCT" and weight fluctuations and then being a loner type of ferret. He'd rather play on his own or with Cooper. He doesn't play as much as he use to as a kit or as much as Cooper does but I assume its his age now but hes been sensitive since depression a few years ago when i had to let a ferret go from being chronically sick.
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Post by katt on Jan 24, 2015 5:24:23 GMT -5
I would suggest doing a 3 month trial of Lupron and seeing if he responds.
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