Congrats BIG (and Chris if you still read the FML) by moderating the FML through 3000 issues. What an achievement. >BTW, although asthma in ferrets is rare (though it can happen, and the >late Ruffle had it among others) there's some new work out from U. VA on >lung pH and asthma attacks which will likely be followed up since it may >startlingly alter the treatment possibilities in the future. A friend had two ferrets with asthma. The first ferret lived a normal life with treatments of theodore (sp?) as required. The diagnosis was confirmed with x-rays. The second ferret would suddenly turn blue and couldn't breathe. The owner found that if she gave a few puffs of air through the nose, the ferret would be able to breathe again. The vet prescribed several treatments that seemed to work at first but the ferret would relapse. The most promising treatment was the use of an oxygen tent. But when even that failed, the owner and vet decided that surgery was the only option left. Tragically, the otherwise healthy ferret died during an attack the next day while at the vets office. On necropsy, the asthma had caused a plug of mucous to form in the airway. Dr. Gardner said the plug looked just like hardened glue. He had never seen anything like it before. When the plug moved, the ferret couldn't breathe. When the owner performed mouth-to-nose breathing, it loosened the plug enough for the ferret to breathe. -Carla [Posted in FML issue 3000]