Hi all.  I'm not sure if I sent this message before, but I have a possible
problem.  Nibbles, my 10 month old fixed female sable is extremely thin.
It started after my wife and I went on our honeymoon.  We left Nibbles with
one of my wife's bridesmaids who had owned ferrets before, but didn't
currently have one.  She wouldn't eat at first, but after a few days she
was eating normally (so we were told).  She looked a little thin, but not
too bad.  A little time went by and she didn't seem to get much worse,
except for the fact that she appeared to be shedding again.  We thought
maybe a companion would cheer her up and we decided to get Bits, our 3
month old fixed, female silver mitt.  Bits had some problems when we bought
her (like cocidiasis {sp?} and ear mites) so we kept them separated.  We
supervised their out time for the three weeks we had to give Bits her
medicines.  At the end of which time we moved Bits into the 3 story cage.
Now, at three months, Bits is as heavy as Nibbles is at 10 months.  Nibbles
looks anorexic and I'm really worried.  We took her in for a checkup when
we brought Bits in for her second Distemper shot and the DVM said that she
looked fine, except for a mild infection in the ear.  We used the mite
medicine (because it had an antibiotic in it) on Nibbles per our vets
advice and we think the infection is gone.  Still, she looks very thin and
I'm not sure why.  Bits is a chubby short one while Nibbles is long and
thin.  I'm worried that Nibbles is hoarding food that Bits ends up eating.
Nibbles must be eating because she seems to be pooping, but I'm worried
that Bits is eating all the food and Nibbles isn't eating enough.  Should I
separate them until I can put more weight on Nibbles?  Should I take her
back to the vet and ask him to run some tests?  Her activity level is
normal, she's ridding herself of waste, she's apparently eating, what could
be wrong?  Any help is appreciated.
 
Thanks,
Jim, Kathy, Nibbles (I'm not anorexic, I'm a supermodel ferret) and Bits
(I'm not chubby, I'm just big boned)
[Posted in FML issue 1337]