Lin, might there have been lymphoma at the base of the problems for the three ferrets? There IS a form of lymphoma that ferrets get which appears to have a silent viral trigger 2 or 3 years before the lymphoma rears its head. It causes clumps of such ills. You can find more about it in: <http://www.afip.org/consultation/vetpath/ferrets/PDF/Lymphoma_Ferrets.pdf> That section begins with the final paragraph of the first column of page 2. See "immunoblastic-polymorphous lymphoma" write-ups such as http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0021-9975(92)90066-4 Journal of Comparative Pathology Volume 106, Issue 1, January 1992, Pages 37-47 Malignant lymphoma in ferrets: Clinical and pathological findings in 19 cases Susan E. Erdman, Frances M. Moore, Rebecca Rose and J.G. Fox <http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=CSFN5H8RSaEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA231&dq=%22immunoblastic-polymorphous%22+%2Bferrets&ots=Mb80qLMMY_&sig=Us9A1WGV8VNEJUIxXRCPO93fqZY#v=onepage&q=%22immunoblastic-polymorphous%22%20%2Bferrets> http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1055937X05000447 <http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=TGZ8nYBqH9sC&oi=fnd&pg=PA276&dq=%22immunoblastic-polymorphous%22+%2Bferrets&ots=FpcRdewGQj&sig=ePlHiqy5uqs5oYhLG01GdmkjXmo#v=onepage&q=%22immunoblastic-polymorphous%22%20%2Bferrets> <http://aemv.org/Documents/AEMV%20Journal%20of%20Exotic%20Mammal%20Medicine%20and%20Surgery_Dec03.pdf> *****Hopefully, I am explaining myself well enough today by relying heavily on people reading links.***** I am having to have 7 teeth capped because they are collapsing -- still about twice as long as my mother's similarly thinly enameled teeth lasted -- so yesterday I spent half a day getting the first 2/3rds of the work done, and am still a bit tired -- read as not all there -- today despite sleeping 11 hours last night. Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/ http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html all ferret topics: http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html HAPPY: http://www.6footsix.com/my_weblog/2010/01/high-fives-for-happiness.html "All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow." (2010, Steve Crandall) [Posted in FML 6598]
