This information is from Dr. Bruce Williams who has discussed it with Dr. Matti Kiupel. For those who do not know both are leading ferret veterinary experts (worldwide). I removed an attached private note, and attached his full name and the letters of one of his degrees. I have a standing permission from Dr. Williams to use this sort of approach when he replies to health questions on the lists. BEGIN QUOTE Dear Sukie - Personally, neither of us have seen Clostridium difficile in ferrets, although it could happen. Clostridium difficile is a commensal organism in many animal species which lives very happily as part of the bacterial flora in the intestine. If there is a truly significant change in the bacterial flora, there is a possibility that it could overgrow. The normal "healthy" bacteria are lowered to an extent that it allows C. difficile to overgrow. Such changes usually happen only as a result of prolonged antibiotic administration at high doses, or in species in which the incorrect antibiotic is administered. It can be seen in people on high doses of antibiotics as well. In my experience the most common event is in rabbits, hamsters and gerbils which are exquisitely sensitive to penicillins and the "mycins" (gentamicin, streptomycin, etc). In this case, only one dose of these anitibiotic can result in a C. difficile overgrowth. Recently, there has been a case in ferrets in which C. difficile toxin has been isolated. It is not uncommon to find this, but in the absence of the specific pathogenic lesions associated with C. difficile, it does not establish a diagnosis. For the diagnosis of C. difficile in any individual to be made, BOTH the toxin must be isolated, and the lesions associated with it need to be present. Bruce Williams DVM END QUOTE Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/ http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html all ferret topics: http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html "All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow." (2010, Steve Crandall) [Posted in FML 6763]