When Kermit was diagnosed with EG about three years ago, my vet did not need to do a biopsy of the intestine. He thought it was lymphosarcoma at first and sent blood to a lab. After the usual (and inconclusive) panel of results, he asked them to further test the blood with a more sophisticated and detailed test. The results included the number of eosinophils and mesophils present. (These are cells that comprise two of the layers of the intestinal wall.) The eosinophil count was 36 and the mesophil count was 5. I think he said that there shouldn't have been any eosinophils present at all, but I'm not sure of that anymore. In any case, this was sufficient for him to decide to treat Kermit with an antibiotic and prednisone. Kermit quickly gained weight and energy. I have never been able to wean Kermit entirely off the pred without triggering a recurrence of the EO, but I am able to reduce the dosage to .5cc most of the time. I raise it to .75cc or even 1cc (Kermit weighs around 3lbs) when he has a flare up, then lower it again when he seems better. In his case, I know he is having a flare up when his poops are little black cow-pies, and I can treat him before he loses weight and energy. Maybe Dr. Williams could provide the name of the test I'm referring to and suggest how high an eosinophil count would indicate that a ferret owner could try treatment without the biopsy? Blessings Judith [Posted in FML issue 3243]