Blog/Forum General Ferret Pages Medical/Vet Information Fun & Informative Pages Shopping for Ferret Lovers Ferret Links & Articles Fine Print! :) Spanish Ferret Book
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.
More information about Lymphosarcoma & Lymphoma in Ferrets can be found on the following sites…
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.
DISCLAIMER: The information contained on this page is not meant to replace seeing a veterinarian if you think your ferret is ill. It’s only meant to supply general information on a particular illness which was obtained either from personal experience with my sick ferrets, or from books and/or the Internet.