Bladder stones:
 
Since these can be secondary to adrenal disease please look at the
compilation of posts to see those which may be helpful at
http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/ferrethealth/prostate.txt
 
One important consideration when bladder stones of certain type are
present is to adjust the diet (as in reducing certain grains) so that the
pH does not raise above a reasonable level.  If the urine is not acidic
enough that can cause precipitation and then crystal formation.  Your vet
can give guidance on this regard and certainly the urine's pH can be
checked.
 
MC wrote:
>This MF boy is gonna make it to 10 as all my 3 spirits did!  Actually,
>this is his first illness of any kind, he is a strong, 'go getter', 8
>year old.  Unless his health fails suddenly, I do believe 10 is a
>reasonable expectation for him.
 
I am so jealous right now.  Granted, we know when we adopt the sorts of
rescues we do (sick ones, handicapped ones, abused ones -- usually a
combination) that they will usually make it to late 7th to middle 8th
year (some older and some younger) with very careful care, but at times I
read about those with multiple 9 and 10 year olds and think, "Gee, if we
didn't take in ones who already have so many strikes against them maybe
we could share more years with them..."  Hard call, I guess.
 
>Subject: Surgery Questions
> ...
>I want to have everything ready ahead of time.  Where can I find what to
>expect and everything.
 
Get a low entry pot, have a lot of newspapers or other place for waste
(for before pot can be used), use a cleaner than most litter like
Yesterday's News, and work up a barrier for a safe room without climbing
or get a one-level sick-cage (no climbing till healed enough) that
provides enough room.
 
An excellent source of ferret supplies if http://www.theferretstore.com .
 
Jean wrote:
>offhand how much we had spent over the years.  They actually had that
>information.  In only the last 7 years we have spent $15,000!!!  That
>is not a typo.
 
It's completely believable.  We tend to take in hard luck cases (usually
from kithood on), and before we lost two this year (with another terminal)
we had seven (six in that situation).  Last year our ferret costs were
$11,500 for the one year alone.  Usually we spend about 1/3 to 1/2 that
annually.  Had to not get the new flooring we's planned for since the
ferrets needed care more than we need to look good here.
[Posted in FML issue 3842]