Finding vets: go to http://www.ferretcongress.org.  In the section with
articles by vets and others you will find both Ferret News and Ferrets
Anonymous which also mention CA vets.
 
Be SURE to go to the section in there with links to pages that mention
ferret vets.  Each is bit different from each other and it pays to check
all of them.
 
Look in the 2003 edition of "Ferrets USA".
 
Some good news: if fur loss is only on the tail that can be from early
adrenal disease, but more commonly it is from dermal problems.  Look up
"rat tail" in the FML Archives
 
http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/ferret-search.html
and
the Complete Ferret Health List (FHL) Archives
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/
 
You still need a vet, though!  Is the ferret up to date on vaccines and
getting regular check-ups?
 
(Ah, after I had a grammatical error in yesterday's post (.  instead
of ?, when I more commonly err in the opposite direction) let's see what
I goof on today... Hey, we're all human and every one of us here has
goofed in any non-pathological way that a person can goof on the list.
Anyway, I DO know that multiple things can cause weight loss: nausea
in and of itself, decreased sense of taste and smell from high
Lasix/Furosemide doses, some neoplasias especially some which wind up
malignant, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and on and on...)
 
Beckers, do remember that syringe feeding carries the risk of accidental
inhalation of food and resultant pneumonia.  Try finger feeding instead.
Put a towel on your lap and sign or talk softly to the ferrets and let
them take their time.  If they wind up disliking a food too badly to give
it then try alternative foods.  Skip supplemental foods except during
illness.  If the ferrets are active and healthy it is perfectly fine and
normal for them to be slender since most mustelids are slender by nature.
(From past correspondences with you over the years I am guessing that you
are asking because perhaps you are dealing with a communicable illness
like influenza or ECE since I don't think that you'd be one to feed
healthy ferrets too much foods to get them chubby, but I figure that
maybe someone else can use that info.)
[Posted in FML issue 4019]