Ulrike wrote: >How can this happen? The abscess that Jack had last May just appeared. >He doesn't get bitten, he doesn't get scratched. Dana's abscess couldn't >have been a bite and neither Mason's or Tom's. And now Jack again! Is >there a bug that can cause abscesses from the inside? I just can't figure >out how it could have happened. The vets don't have a clue. For years I >don't see any abscesses and now it seems there's an abscess epidemic... Dear Ulrike, Do your ferrets spend time outside? There is a parasite called a Cuterebra (sp?) which is a fly that lays an egg on the fur. This hatches, burrows into the skin and causes a large lump which can abcess. I know because we have an outdoor run and WWW got 2 of these nasty things. There is usually a small, round hole in the skin that the larvae breathes through, one larvae per hole. I hope this all gets better, it sounds like a nightmare for you. cb [Posted in FML issue 3325]