Hi All!
 
We are fairly new ferret parents (about 3 months) and have been lurking
here for the past few weeks.  Seeing how all you FML'ers are so generous
with your help and advice now seemed to be a good time to "come out of
the closet".
 
We have two little ones we acquired from a co-worker who said they were
too much work to keep up with.  As we are "critter people" (2 dogs, 1
cat, 2 chinchillas, 1 guinea pig, fish) she thought we would be willing
to help her out.  She was right and we haven't regretted it for one
moment.  They are wonderful pets.  They are about 3 years old, and we
have a male (Tigger) and female (Weasie).  Now on to the reason for this
post.  We need your help!
 
Tigger has started acting strangely today. He is not nearly as
energetic as usual (he actually wants to picked up and petted!), and
has been drinking almost constantly. He runs to the dogs water bowl
every few minutes and drinks for a couple of minutes. His sides also
seem to be "sunk in", as though he hasn't eaten in a couple of days.
When I noticed his behavior I looked into his cage to see if I could
get any clues and noticed that his stools were black and tarry
looking, and also much smaller than usual.
 
Having read about what some of your carpetsharks have been through
recently, we are very concerned about what may be causing this. Can
anyone help?
 
Ken & Paula Tischler + zoo
Tigger & Weasie (ferrets fantastique)
Brutus & Dusty (Lab Retreivers)
Yoda & Zeke (mini fur coats)
Molly & Misty (guinea pig & wild cat)
[Posted in FML issue 1127]