Thanks to everyone who offered advice on Erp's condition.  I'm happy to
report that he is doing much better.
 
Friday, we got him started on some kind of ferret vitamin that promotes
weight gain and increases energy levels.  We are also giving him a
hairball remedy.  He loves the taste of both of these so its not hard to
give it to him.
 
He is also getting regular doses of Prozyme, which is a powdered emzyme that
activates with moisture.  Its supoosed to help break down all the nutrients
in the food so they absorb everything they possibly can from their food.
You can give it to any animal.  I've been sprinkling it on the Totally
Ferret.
 
Since we have started this, his appetite has increased, he's eating about
1/2 cup of food a day now and its gets a little better every day.  I give
him the recommended dosage of vitamins for ferrets that are not eating,
which is 1 tsp, in addition to a healthy "ribbon" of hair ball remedy.  I've
only heard one cough since Friday.
 
Saturday, he shuffled around the house a little and actually chased a few
cats for a moment or two.  Yesterday was his best day yet.  He tried to kill
the brush I was using to groom him and got very excited about a paper napkin
I was holding.  We had a terrific game of "shred the napkin to unrecognizable
bits" before he got sidetracked by the dog.
 
All in all, I think Erp is improving steadily.  I try to take him out of his
cage several times a night for about 1/2 hour at a time.  When I put him
back in his hammock, he looks at me like "Aw, already?  I was just starting
to get into trouble." But within a few minutes, he is fast asleep again.  I
think its better to have him out several times a night for short periods of
time than to tire him out in one 3 hour session.
 
He's getting used to our house again.  I think it just took him some time to
get over the shock of being first seperated from his human family and then
from his ferret friend all in the time of 3 weeks.  Maybe now he's thinking
"Hey, wait a minute, your my first mom, I like you." and "Hey, these are the
cats I used to annoy all the time, I REALLY like them <evil ferret grin>"
 
Thanks again for all your advice.  I'm confident now that I will boring
everyone with Erp stories for awile longer.
 
Alex, the zoo & Erp.
[Posted in FML issue 1569]