First I want to say thank you for everyone who replied, on or off list.
You all helped me put my mind at ease.

Chouji pulled through everything like a champ. I picked him up as soon
as I got off work and he bounded into my arms. The vet was somewhat
surprised, as she had expected him to be more groggy (he is quite lazy
and won't be active unless he has to be) and also to be upset with me.
He didn't lap at my arm like he usually does, but I chalk that up to
the change in his mouth.

We got home and I put him in the cage by himself and set about making
some mushy food (vet's advice on both parts). Before I got back, he had
dug whole-heartedly into the kibble. He wanted nothing to do with the
mash, so I left it for the others as a treat. He is on a tiny dose of
pain meds until Mon. The hole in is gum looked horrid Thurs afternoon,
kinda yucky yesterday, and now just like a crater today. He's not a
wrestler by nature, so I'm not worried about that too much. The others
didn't like his absence and when he was finally allowed back into the
cage with him, they all dog-piled onto him and curled up instead of
storming the cage door like they usually do.

In other news, I am ferret-sitting a very young ferret for a friend.
Her ferret plays often with their dog. The dog whines a lot and so
does the ferret. I was prepared for that. However, when he first had
to share food with my four, he made this very loud, high-pitched
vocalization. I swear this ferret barks! Has anyone else experienced
this transfer of vocalization from a dog to a ferret? It shocked me at
first, but then I thought it was funny. He even chases his tail before
he lies down. I'm going to try to video it, but he's accepted the
others now, so I don't know if I can get him to "bark" again.

~Jennie

[Posted in FML 5774]