Candy, there really is NOT enough info to narrow anything down. You
mention a very general symptom (weight loss) which can be caused by
almost anything from poor nutrition, to blockage, to cardiomyopathy,
to lymphoma, and on and on.

Two notes: when unsure of what caused a death ALWAYS have a necropcy
WITH SPECIMENS SEND FOR PATHOLOGY BY A FERRET VETERINARY PATHOLOGIST
ASAP. Some of the digestive tract (and gall bladder and pancreas) info
is lost within hours due to self-digestion after death and the longest
a ferret cadaver can go before all data is lost is about 48 hours if
kept in a refrigerator. Freezing bursts cells. It is fine for certain
pathogen tests, but not for study of the tissues so it loses essential
data.

I am sorry that you seem to be learning this the hard way.

What tests have been done and what are the results? Was the first
imaged" The second? X-rays or sonogram? What was seen? Was not just a
CBC but CBC WITH CHEMISTRY PANEL done on these ferrets and what where
the results?

What other symptoms are you seeing? What are these ferrets fed (food,
supplements of any types, any meds of any type)? What do they have
access to? Have you been using a deodorizer in the room? Is there cedar
in the cage? Etc.

Your next step if testing hasn't been done is to have testing done on
the sick ferret while a LOT of supportive care is provided. If you
think that the ferret may need help eating or the vet wants you to do
sub-cu hydration HAVE THE VET OR VET TECH TEACH YOU HOW. It is possible
to sub-cu wrong, and more often it is possible to "force- feed" wrong
and cause aspiration pneumonia which can rapidly become fatal. Gentler
alternatives are better than force feeding in all but the most extreme
cases, and -- again -- the veterinary professionals need to be the ones
to teach you how to do these things.

-- Sukie (not a vet, and not speaking for any of the below in my
private posts)
Recommended health resources to help ferrets and the people who love
them:
Ferret Health List
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
AFIP Ferret Pathology
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
Miamiferrets
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
International Ferret Congress Critical References
http://www.ferretcongress.org

[Posted in FML 5403]