A couple of days ago I posted a message that my 2 yr old male, Cassidy,
chews when there is nothing in his mouth and has been doing this since I
have had him.  I got a few responses saying that it could be a stomach ulcer
so I took him to the vet today.  I live in a metropolitan area but am in
college in a very urban area in the moutains of N.Carolina.  I usually take
him to a vet in Charlotte which is where he recently had a splenectomy but
today I took him to a nearby town where the vet is supposedly very
knowledgable about ferrets.  I have taken Cassidy to him once for shots and
wasn't very impressed because he didn't really examine him.  I decided to
give him another chance and again wasn't impressed.  He acted like I was
really paranoid (who isn't paranoid about their baby?) and told me that this
was normal and there was no reason to suspect an ulcer.  While this was good
news to me, I didn't feel very confident about this diagnosis because the
vet didn't do anything but hold him for a few seconds.  Should I leave it at
that or get a second opinion?  Also he gave me a hard time about not keeping
Cassidy caged and said that if I don't, it greatly increases his chances of
dying young.  Is this simply because he might swallow something or are there
other reasons?  I couldn't bear to put Cassidy in a cage.  He had to stay in
one for ten days after his splenectomy and he drove me crazy trying to get
out.  What are your opinions and experiences with keeping ferrets caged vs.
roaming free?  I live alone in a tiny one bedroom apartment so it isn't like
he has far to go.
 
Thanks for your help.  Melanie.
[Posted in FML issue 1850]