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Take a look at the photo of Beasley, to the right. Notice the puffiness around his neck? The immediate concern with this appearance is swollen lymph nodes.

Beasley was fortunate; the large deposits in his neck were only fat. That is something ferrets do at times which surprises some vets who are not used to ferrets. Some other ferrets will have hard ball-like structures --kind of like marbles -- in that same position. That alternative type of swelling happens when the lymph nodes are enlarged. Infection can create swollen lymph nodes, but so can lymphoma.

When that type of swelling happens it pays to either have a node removed for biopsy or to have an aspirate taken from the node. Removal is harder but much more accurate. Either approach can prove very useful.

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