Dear ferret people, Can ferrets get ECE twice? Why did I think they developed immunity after having it once? Last winter my 2 ferrets had ECE bad - they became ill a couple days after i played with some cute babies at the pet store. It was a totally nervewracking couple of months, with an initial crisis during a blizzard, and forcing food, and subcutaneous fluids, and weak scrawny little creatures, and of course the well known disgusting diarrhea - and a lot of patience and good advice from you all... We survived, and a few months later they were feeling fine, and this fall they got nice and plump. Just about a year from when they got sick, we adopted a new ferret from a shelter (what a character - but that's another post) - and altho we were a little nervous about it, no one got ill. We live in a ferret-poor area, but a while ago i met someone thru the FML who lives nearby. I met her ferrets, and they were healthy and perky and as far as she knew had never had ECE, and she met mine, and it was a year since they'd had ECE, and we decided to get them together to play, as a prelude to maybe being able to pet-sit for each other. And they had a great time. But 2 days later, my ferrets got sick. they didn't have it nearly as severely - they're almost totally recovered already - but i'm pretty sure it was ece, because the symptoms were mostly the same (the odor and texture of the poops, the unwillingness to eat, the malaise) - although the poops were only a little bit green this time. So what should I think? Could they have gotten something else with gelatinous stinky poops and depressed apetite? The ferrets they played with had been boarded at a shelter or breeder at some point, could they carry ECE without getting ill? Can I ever let mine be around other ferrets? My first 2 are getting on in years, and i don't think one of them could survive if they got as sick again as they were a year ago... or do the symptoms get milder each time? I'd be curious to hear what folks think. Thanks, and happy ferreting ---shen [Posted in FML issue 3706]