Sorry to be slow to update on Solo; it has been an unusual, and emotionally devastating week. Solo left us yesterday at around 4:00 pm. His temperature had finally dropped on Thursday, (had been 103 to 105) and he had started to hold his head up by himself to eat. He would pull himself out of his blankets and over to his paper towels to relieve himself about half of the time, towards the end. He was having a really difficult time getting his tail up far enough to keep it clean, so we had to help him with his hygiene and keep him wiped off since he was unable to lift his body. He barely used his back legs at all, towards the end. He had one more day to go on his two-week course of Biaxin/Amoxy for possible helicobacter. He was getting Carafate. Solo was getting around 200 mls of Lactated Ringers every day, and being fed a soup of kibble, A/D, Ensure Plus, and Ferretvite. He willing took his food during most of his illness. We had started him on Pediapred for about 4 days, but he quit eating, and his condition did not improve, so the Pred was discontinued. Solo had begun to vocalize more the last day or so. It was a soft little sound, almost like a kitten purring. He did not appear to be in any pain, except when he would grind his teeth, which was usually only during feeding or meds. He loved to be held. On Friday, I had given him his mini-bath (back half only) to clean up his little bottom, because it is difficult to get all the solid material out of his fur if he would 'go' while I was not close by. I had dried his fur with a dryer on a low setting, and had shaved some of his fur in the area to help with the problem. He was rather activated, and very alert. He even had his eyes open and was holding his head up by himself just to look around. He seemed to be enjoying the brushing and drying. I placed him into a hammock that is made like a sleep-sack that is fleece lined, and he 'checked it all out'. He was so 'stimulated'. I laid him in his bed to clean up the area I had given him his bath, and warmed up his food. When I went back to get him, I could see his eyes were wide open, and he had a bottle brushed tail. I picked him up, and he was gone. A necropsy is being done to try to determine what took this healthy 18 month old in just under a month. I want to thank everyone that posted to me here and privately; you are a wonderful group. I will still be contacting each of you that sent emails directly to me. I'll post the necropsy results, when I get them back. If anyone would like more details of the symptoms or course of treatment, you can email me.... Julie ===== Julie Fossa West Central Ohio Ferret Shelter 419/ 225-8383 "Just A Place To Hang Your Hammock While You're Looking for A Home!" [Posted in FML issue 2944]