I've had the same exact experience as Anne in Chicago with one of my ferrets over the years. Our very healthy ferret seemed to have "hard seasons" and then he got a very bad case of Helicobactor and ulcers one year. He's not been right since. In fact, oddly enough, every fall he goes on this downward spiral. In between there are small bouts that we are able to get him to bounce back quicky from by handfeeding him bland, but highly pumped up versions of duck soup. Sadly for him each fall, when he's hit hard ... it get's worse and worse and worse. This year, right now in fact, we are in deliberation about how long to wait until we euthanize this baby if he continues downward as he is NOT bouncing back for the first time this time around. He is five and a half. Wolfy http://wolfysluv.jacksnet.com [Posted in FML issue 4669]