Robin, is it possible that he said it was a bot fly maggot (larva)? Those aren't ingested and aren't worms; they are the juvenile stage of a type of fly which lays it's eggs with a sharp ovipositor under the skin. Yes, they do hurt since they wiggle around and they eat themselves a channel as they grow. I recall earlier FML posts on the topic, but they have been rare ones and don't recall seeing one in years though I skim sometimes. ---- >something you can spray on an area of carpet that the fuzzies are using >as a litter box, (but in all actuality the real litter box is NOT there) >that the fuzzies tend to not like. I can't seem to find it though. I >thought someone wrote that it was amonia/water, or maybe You can be SURE it was NOT ammonia! Ammonia smells like urine to them so it encourages them to "go" in an area. Some people use white vinegar, some use Bitter Apple, some use a good scent that they also use in bedding like vanilla extract to make the area smell like a bed. We use "Out Spot Go" with which we are INCREDIBLY happy -- best thing we have personally tried in 20 years. ---- Hair loss on tail may be from an adrenal growth, but unlike loss elsewhere on the body more commonly is not. A swollen vulva may be an adrenal growth, though. Could also be that she is in "heat", has a uterine stump, or has a vaginal infection. Since it would downright foolish to breed a ferret of unknown medical history, first three all will require surgery. Time to get a vet for an assessment. Oh, one pointer: I recently learned that some folks have confused ADV (Aleutian Disease Virus) with adrenal growths because of the "AD" beginning of the word "adrenal". They are totally different things. Adrenal growths which are usually benign (but require surgical correction whenever possible due to their complications being so dangerous and even fatal -- and which should be treated with things like Lupron and melatonin when surgery is not possible) are neoplasias ("New growths") arising from tissue in the adrenal glands. When the growths are malignant they may be adenocarcinaomas which usually are corrected fully by surgery if caught early, lymphoma which is much trickier, etc. When adrenal surgery is done it always pays to have Florinef and Prednisone handy in case both come out or in case the remaining gland or it's remnant is suppressed in function since otherwise the ferret will die. That combo of meds replaces missing adrenal products. Not having those meds handy has in recent years been the most common cause of death I've personally had people report to me after adrenal surgery (followed by allowing post-surgical ferrets to climb soon after they come home). Either of those two causes of death is avoidable usually. Since vets have been extra careful about things like using safest anesthesias such as Iso, about keeping ferrets warm enough during and after surgery, about hydration, etc. that chances of dying in surgery have gone way down. ---- ADV is a very serious infectious disease in the Parvo family which causes a range of symptoms depending on where plaques wind up being deposited. It, also, is something everyone should learn about -- in this case by using the websites often given as links in posts on this illness. ---- A thought on Verizon: hearing ferrets are GREAT at doing tricks they know with the instructions given over a phone line. We've done that time and again over the years, and Sherman will readily lie down and roll over when he's told to do so over a phone line. One of the competitors could have a "cute pets" series of ads showing animals following instructions given over phone lines to show that they are clear enough for even a critter to understand. Please, be sure to let them know that there are an estimated 7 million companion ferrets in the U.S. (according to a recent AFA source) so that sort of positive ferret ad will appeal to many. Now, to find the addies of Verizon's Wireless competitors... Meanwhile, definitely complain to Verizon and be willing to switch carriers while telling them that the cause was that they depicted a loving companion animal which you adore as vicious. They need to know that this ad is costing them money in lost accounts. ---- [Posted in FML issue 3872]