While I cannot totally rule out the possibility of JL in this case, the presentation and the information that we have - sketchy as it is is not overly consistent with a diagnosis of JL. (You can find more information on lymphoma at my web site at http://www.afip.org/ferrets .) Let's look at the situation - JL usually presents as a neoplasm which affects the organs of the body, rather than the lymph nodes (which is seen in the adult onset forms). When first diagnosed, there is usually advanced disease in the liver, spleen and thymus, resulting in swelling of these organs. Most cases of JL are seen only after the thymus has increased in size to where it is compressing the lungs and breathing is difficult (this is why the average life span of untreated JL is about two weeks, as compared to several months when treated aggressively. Now your ferret has no described evidence of any organ enlargements on the X-ray, and races around the house - not what you would expect with JL. While I can't tell you what the mass in the abdomen is, I think that the best thing to do is to have it taken out an evaluated - no sense messing around. Also, if he is not eating well, then don't expect a lot of poop. Another possibility here in a young ferret would have to be a GI foreign body - they can occasionally mimic abdominal masses. I note that no bloodwork has been run - an oversight if JL is a serious consideration. My suggestion - let's see if you can get a referral to address this a bit faster than two weeks - the office can probably give you the name of someone locally who can handle a good abdominal exploratory. With kindest regards, Bruce Williams, DVM [Posted in FML issue 3490]