Dear X: Those are a lot of questions. Let me see if I can run down most of them. Quarantine once an animal in the house is useless due to the fact that ferrets may shed up to six months, and the virus is infectious enough to be spread on clothes, hands, ferret feet, etc - once it's in the house - everyone who has not had the disease will get it. Of course, the severity of symptoms will vary based on a number of factors - the animals to worry most about are the older ones with other diseases. It sounds as if Ruby is doing well and should recover. While immunity is lifelong, the disease predisposes ferrets to the development of a condition known as inflammatory bowel disease, a disease of the immune system which may be triggered by coronavirus infection. There is an article in the current issue of "Ferrets" on it - I have permission to reprint the article on my web site after a period of 60 days (ostensibly after this issue has left the newsstand.) About 20% of ECE cases develop IBD to the point where treatment is needed. Stay with the baby food, lots of water, and the antibiotics; when the stool starts to firm up, then gradually move back to a kibble diet. With kindest regards, Bruce Williams, DVM [Posted in FML issue 3748]