Please help me with my ferret Cocoa.  I have read the ferret facs, and also
I am an avid reader of the FML.  My ferret Cocoa is not acting right.  Here
is his history:
 
He is approximately a year old.  He has never put on winter weight.  He is
not skinny, but he has not gained any weight since the summer.  He has an
appetite.  He poops and they are good poops.  However, he is lethargic,
makes a throaty sound like a cough.  I first noticed him Thanksgiving day
not playing like the rest and going somewhere to sleep in just a short time.
He felt real hot to me.  He did not look to have a cold, but he was making
throaty sounds then.  Not all the time, just occasionally.  Something like a
nervous tic.  Being Thanksgiving I decided to separate him from the others
and force fluids, watch to see if he pooped, and keep him warm.  I also gave
him Linatone (thinking maybe a hairball?).  After all my research I
concluded he may have a cold or the flu.  He has been sleeping under my
waterbed away from the others and he has actually played, he is eating and
drinking, and almost back to his normal self, but is still making a throaty
sound.  I thought he may have something in his throat so I pried his mouth
open as best I could and looked, nothing.  I am more concerned because of
his weight and contemplating him having an obstruction that may cause
wasting.  Do you just have him opened up and looked at, or do you think he
could be x-rayed to see, or am I being overly protected.  I still do not
think he is up to par like he was.  Before last Thursday he was very playful
and never seem to be sick at all.
 
Thanks for your advice in advance.
 
P.S. BIG, I am sorry for all the confusion with my server.  This has been
very frustrating for me.  I had not had an FML fix for almost two weeks!
Thanks for all you do!
 
Mindy and her four fuzzbutts - Whiskers (Tubby, he has put on at least a
pound this winter), Tiny, Cocoa and Tigger
[Posted in FML issue 2142]