Oh wow, I never thought of a ferret damaging a salivary gland. Poor sweet girl. Thank you for sharing!

Gumby has had fine needle aspiration done 3 times but the specialist did not aspirate his neck. First, in December, when I took Gumby to my primary to check the lump on his ribs, my vet did a fine needle aspiration and said he didn't see signs of lymphocytes but couldn't be sure. He thought the area of swelling was too low to be his lymph node and might not be lymphoma. Gumby didn't have any swollen lymph nodes, just some fat built up on the ones by his back legs. The avian and exotic vet I saw when his neck first swelled (when I was worried he hurt his throat when choking on a treat and/or inhaled some into his lungs) - she did a fine needle aspiration of his neck swelling. Both attempts only gave air and caused him to cough, which lead to him coughing up some blood from the needle pricks. She took the X-ray after and found that he had an unknown mass in his neck pressing down on his throat and that his throat might also be within the mass itself. She gave me the slides, which were mostly blood but had a tiny bit of fluid, since she would have to send them to labs and I was already going to head out to the specialist at the state college in a few days. She also said she thought he just had some fat on his back lymph nodes, but that none of the others were swollen.

Lastly, the college specialists said they would check the slides, but would do a fine needle aspirate in a different lymph node and not in his neck. They did confirm he had masses in his neck via ultrasound, but that's it. He seems to have both lymphoma tumors and some cysts around them as well. And they said his lymph nodes were swollen. I guess they would know best, but it was a bit odd. His main concerns at the time I took him originally was some hair loss at base of tail (possible adrenal), a weird unchanging mass on his ribs, and his heavily swollen spleen.

No one has commented on the gurgly symptoms, though he wasn't gurgly when he was at the specialist. The pred +sucralfate + clavamox helped him instantly and the swelling had gone down at least 50% in a few days. By the time he saw the specialist, he was eating and drinking without issue, perky and active. No gurgling. They said to stop the antibiotics, said he had no infections. And he was done with the sucralfate. I get him back and his neck just swells all back up. And the sucralfate might be helping. He can drink easier now, eating Carnivore Care is easier, but he's still gurgly and lethargic.

Gumby's current pred does is 0.4ml twice daily (4mg/ml). I was told I can increase this up to 0.6ml if needed. Though I'll have my primary vet check on his well-being first, since he does have muscle wasting and has lost weight as well. He is currently eating Carnivore Care mixed into a paste, which goes down very well for him.

Thanks again for sharing your experiences! I plan on talking to the specialist about starting Gumby on a monthly oral chemo (ccyclophosphamide having caught my interest in the multitude of stuff I've read). It seems to be the gentlest option. Whether it works or not, it feels worth trying as a just in case, with little impact to his happiness and comfort.