Hi all!! I'm a new member. I subscribed before but got overwhelmed with my life and was unable to manage the long daily letters we'd get, despite how wonderful and informative they were. But I'm very glad to be back because, honestly, I missed all you guys!!!! And, unfortunately, I need some help. :'( I took one of my baby girls (Zen) to the vet last week because I noticed some things I thought were strange. Unfortunately, my suspicions were confirmed. She's a Marshall Farms ferret, I believe, and about 5 1/2 years old. She had one mast cell tumor removed several years ago and no problems arose from it since as far as either I or the vets can tell. What I recently noticed was that she seemed to have lost a lot of weight (about 10 oz in the last month or so) which brings her down to 1.12 lbs. That's over a third of her body weight. She's also been very very lethargic, though she has been eating and drinking. I made some variation of duck soup and she seemed better for a few days, then became very lethargic again. Then, as I felt her tummy, it seemed distended and hard. I compared that to the other baby to make sure and her tummy did not feel the same way, so I immediately made an appt. with my vet. The vet examined her that day and did tests the next day. He thinks it's either a cyst or a tumor, more likely a tumor because of the amount of weight she's lost. He did x-rays, and couldn't tell exactly where or what it was because of her size. He suspects it's coming from her spleen. He also said he did not think it was her liver, bladder or stomach, from what he could see in the x-rays. He's also now referred me to the Ohio State University Vet. Hosp. for an ultrasound to try to get a better idea of what it is in hopes of avoiding surgery, though he thinks we'll probably have to regardless. She has an appointment at OSU on monday at 9 a.m. They're going to do another exam to make their own assessment and do the ultrasound if they can get her in that day. When I used to belong to the FML, I thought I remembered reading that Marshall Farms ferrets were prone to lymphoma. He thought that might be a possibility. Any ideas???? I'm soooo upset and scared. I trust this vet (as much as one can with the life of a loved one in their hands) yet wanted some other input. I would GREATLY appreciate some input, advice, etc. if anyone else has come across something like this. I have already done as much research online and in the FML for issues with spleen enlargements, tumors, etc. so I think have the basics down but thought someone might have some other ideas. Thanks!!!!!!!!! Queen Zen, Queen Bu and Laura (the devoted slave to fuzzy hearts) [Posted in FML issue 3050]