Hi all. I can now talk about this and not cry and I have been bothered for months about it so now is the time to post this. In April of this year I had the sad experience of having to put down my ferret Ripley. It was my first ferret to loose. Ripley was 4 years old and had always been in excellent health. One day I noticed he had a 'hollow' look to his hind quarters so I kept an eye on his food intake and poop and so forth. A few months after this I noticed one day he was starting to drag his hind quarters around and this is when I took him to the vet. Ripley was given a complete exam and the doctor took 2 X-Rays. He showed me the X-Rays and pointed out the density of his hind bones. They were black in the middle where they should have been a healthy solid white. His bones where brittle and one fall could do him in. The doctor really did not know what to tell me. Ripley continued to get worse and I now had to put him in a cage to isolate him from his fellow-ferret colleagues. Again I took him to the vet when it got to the point of him pooping on himself because his hind legs were so weak all he could do was to drag them. He was eating fine, drinking fine, pooping fine and in good spirits. What in the world was wrong with him. I wanted to know. Again, the doctor did an exam and could find nothing wrong. Finally the day came when Ripley could not even get his head out of the water bowl when he drank and I knew I could not let him go through anymore. I put his cage on my bed that night and petted and loved on him all through the night knowing this was our last night together. The next day I took him to the vet and stood in the room while the shot was administered. Ripley died in my arms. God was I ever devastated. Was there more I could have done? Did I do something wrong? I requested the vet do an autopsy on him because maybe this would shed some much needed light on what was going on. Two weeks later I went to pick up his ashes and was told that the autopsy revealed nothing. So I have never known what in the world was killing my Rippy-Boy. Has anyone out there had a similar experience? Does anyone have any idea what it could have been? I know you are not vets but your opinion and experience would be greatly appreciated. To this day I wonder what it could have been. Insulinoma was ruled out from the blood workup the vet did. I miss my little Ripley and I feel I did the right thing by him. Still.............. Diane [Posted in FML issue 3619]