Just want to put out the warning that if anyone else hears that their
ferrets have giardia, please take it very seriously.  I almost lost one
to it.
 
I had a bad case of ferret math about 18 months ago and brought home my
baby Flower.  Within just a few days, all three of the others started with
the green poops.  After several days of this, I brought the two smallest,
Buttercup and Boobah, in to the vet, where Boobah very politely provided
the vet with a sample of the offending poop.  He had it tested and said she
had giardia.
 
Assuming all three had the same thing, take note that this can be just as
dangerous as any other ferret-sickness... both Butter and Boo went down
to under 1 pound and Butter had to be hospitalized for 4 days (she only
weighed 434 grams).
 
And Barbara, best of luck to you with your poor Ben.  My Butter (yup,
she's the one who always needs the vet the most) bit a live wire after I'd
only had her for a week--I thought I'd lost her.  The vet found a horrible
burn in her mouth that gave her terrible problems eating for about 10 days,
and I had to feed her mush.  Fortunately, Butter's mouth healed (although
sometimes I think I can still see her scars when she yawns big).  Our
prayers go out to you and Ben.
 
Wendy and House Penferret: Boobah (Boss), Buttercup (Accident-prone),
Pica (Biker-chick), and Flower (Spaz)
[Posted in FML issue 2941]