On Saturday two boys came our way that needed our help. We don't know where they came from, but it wasn't good. They are malnourished and neglected, but we have hope that they will respond to our treatments and love and be able to find a good Forever Home sometime soon. Pop is a Dark Eyed White who has a chordoma on the end of his tail that will need surgery soon. I will pay for the surgery, either before or after he and Pip find their Forever Home together. Pop also has a bald spot on his back. It is not adrenal disease, but the result of something being spilled on him, or some other trauma. He and Pip both have otherwise full and soft coats. It does look as if the fur could grow back, because the skin is normal. Other than that, Pop is responding remarkably well to our special soup and TLC, and he's dooking around and playing and eating up a storm. He's gaining weight and strength each day and is will bring lots of smiles to his new owner. He really loves toys and will roll around with them in a little cubby hole, having the time of his life. Pip, an albino, came to us in very bad shape. He was extremely thin, weak, and not wanting to eat. We were able to rather quickly determine that he had ulcers, and we started treating him for them immediately. He has responded very well so far to the carafate, pepcid, and amoxicillin, and his appetite and desire to eat have improved dramatically. He's putting on weight and gaining strength, but he was still very lethargic. Believing that he and Pop were fed a terrible diet for most or all of their life, we suspected possible insulinoma. He has not had his BG checked yet or seen a vet, but the way he responded to a low dose of prednisolone strongly suggests that he does have insulinoma. He was a completely different guy after getting the prednisolone, demanding to be taken out of the cage, and when he was, he found the desire and strength to investigate his new surroundings for a good 20 minutes. This was just a day after we feared he might need to be helped to the Bridge. So, we will continue with his prednisolone, which is a low dose of 5 drops twice daily. Pop is already ready for a good home, but Pip needs more time with our soup and his ulcer meds. We are hopeful that he will continue to improve, and that he and Pop can soon go to a new Forever home together. However, Pip will probably always need to be given meds for insulinoma, so these handsome and personable boys need someone who is experienced with managing this disease. We're trying to get them used to Totally Ferret kibble, in addition to our soup, so that they will already be accustomed to the kibble when they leave our home. We would most definitely keep them ourselves if not for the fact that they came to us on the same day that we adopted two ferrets from the Connecticut Humane Society, one of them an older special needs girl. With the five ferrets that we already had, we just can't take on four new ones long-term. But we're doing everything possible to help Pip and Pop and get them ready for a real ferret's life, which I doubt they've every had. If someone with experience caring for a ferret with insulinoma would like to make this a very special holiday for these boys and give them a new lease on life, then I will deliver them to you in the near future with my eternal gratitude. I will drive any reasonable distance from our home in Connecticut to be sure that they get to the home that they so badly deserve. And, as I said before, I'll pay for the chordoma surgery for Pop, either before or after the adoption. It's a relatively simple surgery with a short recovery period. Our vet did a similar surgery on our Luna and she was back to normal in just 2 days. For anyone who is sincerely interested, please email me and I will send pictures of the boys. They've already grabbed hold of our hearts after just 3 days, and I'll do anything to ensure that they find the right forever home. Jeff In Memory of Trinny, Neo, and Mr. Parker Caring for Morphy, Baby Girl, Luna, Dozer, Sabrina, Bumbles, and Possum the Million Dollar Ferret [Posted in FML 6554]