A real quick post:
 
RE: Pneumonia in ferrets.  Edith had this once and it could have been the
death of her.  She was very lethargic, had a fever, and very very very very
very (very!) congested.  She would do this reverse sneeze thing that sounded
like a bark trying to clear mucous from her throat and nose.  The discharge
from her nose was yellow and green and thick and dirtied her fur around her
chin.  Her eyes watered and the fur on her face became very matted.  She was
disoriented too and would fall down.  She lost a lot of weight.  We did the
humidifier, hot wash cloths held under her nose and over her eyes,
handfeeding, at first oral antibiotics then extra-whammy shots, put
eucalyptus oil on her nose, kept her room extra extra warm for awhile she
was kept on a heating pad, finally hospitalized her and put her in an
incubator.  It took about 3 and a half weeks for her to come around.
 
RE: Biting Ferrets.  For real bad biters, the best trick in my book is to
give a treat to the ferret each and every time you touch him/her.  I think
this works also when introducing ferrets that don't really like each other.
Give treats when they are out to play together.  With bitter apple it seems
to me it prevents bites for about 5 times and then it starts to work in the
opposite direction.  They bite more and harder.  I dunno, just my experience.
[Posted in FML issue 1754]