Hello, this is my first time posting, yet I read faithfully. I recently had a ferret pass away unexpectedly and I wanted to share the symptoms to see if anyone else out there has encountered the same thing and has any info for me. Gandolf (Sweet Pea) was less than 1 yr old. I purchased him from a pet store. In May I noticed that he seemed sluggish and did not play with the others as he always did. He also seemed to be losing weight. He was running a fever and also was very itchy, way more than the usual ferret itch. He was consumed by itching and scratching at himself, all over. I thought he may have insulinoma and we went to the vet right away. Well, his blood sugar was fine, yet he had quickly become lethargic, very bony and his eyes appeard to be bulging. We (the vet and I) did not understand what could be wrong, he was so young and had been very healthy up until I noticed his changed behavior. I of course kept researching to figure out what was wrong because clearly something was. I called the vet and told him that he my have an adrenal tumor. We did an ultra sound right away and sure enough, there was a fairly large tumor on the left adrenal gland. Surgery was scheduled a week later and I was so very happy to know that we were going to make my precious Sweet Pea better. Surgery came and went and he seemed a little perkier, but continued to lose more weight and his eyes seemed to bulge even more, there was still something wrong. He continued to eat and drink very well, especially the drinking part. I noticed that I was constantly filling his water. Well, needless to say, the day I was to have his staples removed (about a week after surgery), he passed away. I of course was extrememly heart broken and cried for several days, as he passed while I was out of town on business. Luckily my husband took care of everything before I got home. I am very perplexed as to what happned, what did the vet and I not know about. I know that I did everything I could and I watch all of my furbabies closely for changes. The vet thought that the tumor had been growing for at least a couple of months, but He was not sure what else could have been causing the other symptoms. He did not have the obvious hair loss either. It was all very very strange. If anyone else has any thoughts or info as to what could have happened, I would love to know. Thank you! Desiree and her clan of 8: Scratch-a-doo, Houdini, Bear, Polar, Chewy, Bon Bon, Grizz, and Spike. [Posted in FML issue 4221]