Lymphosarcoma & Lymphoma in Ferrets

This is a cancer of the lymphatic system and both young and old ferrets can be affected. However, if the ferret is young, the disease is usually rapidly fatal.

Older ferrets can live without any symptoms of this disease for years and then it will suddenly appear.

Some of the symptoms to look out for are

Hind leg weakness

Lethargy

Wasting

Poor appetite

Chronic diarrhea

Difficulty in breathing

Enlarged spleen

Large lymph nodes around armpits, knees and throat

Your vet will take blood tests and might even need to do exploratory surgery before deciding on the best course of treatment. Regrettably the prognosis is poor.

Fidget, our beautiful silvermitt, got lymphosarcoma when she was 6 years old and she lasted another 2 years on prednisone. Unfortunately it got to the stage where one day, all of a sudden, her tumor just got incredibly large and her stomach so swollen that we knew it was time for her last visit to the vet.

Lymphosarcoma/lymphoma in the ferret (Pet Care Veterinary Hospital)

Lymphoma And Lymphosarcoma In Your Ferret by Ron Hines, DVM, PhD

Lymphoma Miami Ferret

Ferret Lymphosarcoma FAQ Ferret Central

Malignant Tumor of the Lymphocytes (Lymphoma) in Ferrets PetMD

Essiac is apparently a very useful supplement to give to a ferret suffering from lymphosarcoma.

I haven't given it to any of my sick ferrets in the past since it isn't available here in Australia and am not endorsing it by mentioning it. However for those who want to learn more about it, there's more information about Essiac on the New Rainbow Bridge site.

You can download a pdf written by Dr Williams about Lymphoma in Ferrets here.

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