>I have Lyme disease.  I don't live in the traditional "endemic" areas
>but in the midwest.  Contrary to popular belief, birds, not deer, are
>the major carriers of the tick responsible for spreading this disease.
 
The reservior for the disease (which is given the very youngest ticks
which are very tiny) is ground nesting rodents, but once they leave those
rodents the ticks then have a host of possible hosts. :-)  In my area
there are over 30 potential wild hosts, and then there are the rest of
us who aren't as wild as we used to be but can still host ticks now and
then.
 
If you search under "ticks" at http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org you will find
a number of ways recommend to keep them off the ferrets.  Some meds
mentioned also work for other things like fleas or mosquitos carrying
heartworm which is much worse nasty.
 
Chris, one tip: sometimes it can been like the difference between night
and day adjusting ht doses of Prednisone/Prednisolone and DIazoxide for a
ferret with insulinoma.  Typically, these doses need adjusting throughout
the course of the illness, and luckily ferrets usually tolerate much
higher levels of Pred than used to be thought.
[Posted in FML issue 4097]