Our 8 month old boy, Henry, has been acting "weird" for about 2 months now.
It's hard to describe his change in behavior.  But, it is very apparent to
us.  He has been really scared, diving under furniture at the slightest
noise.  He has a really hard time waking up.  When you pick him up for the
1st time after he awakens he is stiff as a board and mean.  But, on the
other hand, once he is up and about he plays and goes back to his old self,
goofing around, playing vigorously, etc, etc.He has also been losing weight.
Little by little.  2 months ago he was 2.8 lbs, he is now 2.25 lbs.  The
weight loss has been very gradual though.  We spent 3 hours at the vet with
him yesterday.  He has a temp of 103.9 degrees.  He had two x-rays which
came back good.  The doctor said his lymph nodes and spleen were not swollen
and felt good.  His blood count came back good.  His ear mites are gone.
His poop was good.  The only thing that was remarkable was in his blood
chemistry.  The doctor said all of the values which have to do with his
liver function were on the high side.  She said they were only above normal
a little which can be seen with infection.  She also spent a lot of time
trying to determine if his hearing and eyesight was good, and we are sure it
is.  We are treating him with antibiotics for a suspect infection and also
Zantac for a possible ulcer.  She didn't see any blood in his poop but said
that a stressed out ferret losing weight could be symptomatic of an ulcer.
Can anyone help us figure out what is wrong with him?  He used to lay in my
lap and let me rub his belly until he fell asleep.  Now, if the phone rings
or if you open a bag of potato chips, Henry runs for his life to hide under
the furniture for hours, peering out, scared to death.
Thank you, charlene
[Posted in FML issue 1272]